New Beginnings
by BeybladeFan19
Summary: Violet Thompson has traveled the world, seen and heard the great secrets of Beyblade. Since the death of her mum 8 years ago, she's been entirely independent on herself and herself alone. Now, the arrival of a strange video tape has triggered a series of exciting events that will see her being thrown into the cut throat and fast paced world of the Beyblade world championships.
1. Chapter 1

Sighing to myself, I dig into the tub of Ben and Jerry ice cream and fork down a creamy spoon full. I gulp and sniffle, raising a hand to wipe the tears from my eyes. I slide further under my blanket and form a small ball on the couch as I cry my heart out. "Boy this movie is sad!" I think to myself as Noah pours his heart out to Allie from The Notebook. Just as it was getting to the best part, there comes a very loud knock on my door. Rolling my eyes and groaning, I lift my petite body off the couch and slouch to the door. I open the door to see the postman. He hands me a small brown package which I quickly sign and shove back at him, closing the door swiftly. I NEED to get back to this movie. I skip back to the living room and hit play. My heart melts with happiness as the couple kiss under the rain. My heart stops and I instantly feel very alone. However, my mind wanders to the rectangular package in my lap. My elongated fingers wipe off the package and I hold up a black video tape to the light with a label that reads "Violet." Confused, I slide down to the floor and gracefully, push it in. The TV instantly changes and appears a familiar face. A friendly old man smiles back at me and I gasp with shock. "Mr Dickinson!" I exclaim, dropping my ice cream. It scatters across the floor but I care not. Mr Dickinson was one of my dearest friends. I had known him for years, ever since I first picked up a beyblade. He was the man who had funded my dream to travel the world, learning everything I could about the legends of the Bit Beasts as well as challenge the worlds greastest beybladers. And for that, I would be forever grateful. But I hadn't heard from him in months. I had assumed he was busy, planning some sort of new tournament. Despite being a very experienced beyblader, it wasn't my type of thing to enter a tournament. That and I didn't have a formal team. What could Mr D want with me?

"I hope you are doing well Violet. Your last letter was very pleasant. I'm not surprised you settled down in London. Your mother always loved that city…"

At the mention of my mother, I wince a little and bite my lip to push back the throbbing pain inside my heart. It had been over 8 years since her death but every single day only increased my longing to see her smiling face and hug her one last time.

"…but I'm afraid I have a favour to ask you. And it is a very important one. It involves you travelling to Japan"

My jaw drops. Japan! Out of all the countries I had travelled, I had never come close to Japan. Europe and America were relatively easy to conquer but Japan, for some unknown reason seemed to appear on my horizon. It was never a priority or even an option. What was in Japan that could ever be of use to me?

"As you know, over the last few months I have been busy making preparations for the next Beyblade world cup. And as usual, the BBA world famous Bladebreakers will be expected to make a rather big splash."

I had heard about these famous Bladebreakers. Never managed to actually watch any of their matches but from the way Mr D constantly enthused about them, I concluded that they must be very talented players. Still, I was convinced they would never last against me. Especially that wannabee world champion Tyson Granger.

"But! This year, there will be a very unexpected twist. And I fear, it may split the Bladebreakers far apart. For this reason, I need you to get on a plane and fly to Japan. I have e-mailed you an Itinerary of your flights and arranged for transport to and from the Airport. I look forward to seeing you very shortly. Goodbye and Good-day, Violet."

I was so confused and shocked at Mr Dickinson's revelation. I barely had any time to ponder the idea of going across the globe when yet again another loud knock arrived at the door. Rising slowly from my seat, I stare at the door and wonder what other surprises the chairman of the BBA has arranged for me. I yank open the door to come face to face to a man in hat. He bows in a very elegant fashion as I raise my eyebrow, more confused than ever.

"My name is James Mam, I will be your personal driver. Your limo awaits your arrival…"

"Limo!" I was so shocked I stuttered around my words. This could not be real. Was I really being sent to Japan by an old friend of the family? Beep! I turn and see my mobile phone is flashing and vibrating across the room. I dive across the couch and flick it on and see that I have received a new e-mail. I open it and my eyes scan the contents.

"NO FREAKING WAY!"


	2. Chapter 2

TYSON POV

Those traitors! I storm out of the building, leaving my frightened and concerned friend Kenny racing behind me, clutching his beloved computer in his hands. I furiously kick open the door and run out, my fists clenched and my teeth gritted. I break into a fast run, my eyes blinking back the angry tears. I fly through the air, my sneakers grinding through the grass as I slide down the hill. I catch my balance and zoom through the park, slamming the branches with my fists. I could still hear their voices in my head, I could feel the sting of betrayal as the people I had once called my best friends quit the greatest team in the history of Beyblade. It made me want to scream. After running and running, I came to the clearing; a small circle suspended over the ocean. I always came here whenever things got a bit too much. I looked to the sky, my shoulders shaking with rage. I clenched Dragoon in my hands and my shooter in my other. I separated my feet, settled my stance and focused on a large rock in the corner. With my breathing hitched and my head buzzing with the voices of my EX best friends, I yelled and fired. Dragoon flew violently and smashed the rock into tiny pieces and flew back into my hand. I caught it swiftly and stared to the sky. I could see a plane, flying through the clouds and for a brief moment, I wondered if that was Maxs plane. I quickly rejected the idea and adjusted my hat, pushing my bangs out of my face and started again, this time aiming for an even bigger rock. Determination soared through me as I called on Dragoon. She ripped out of my launcher and with a boom, destroyed the rock. This time, she landed near me, spinning gracefully. I bent down and scooped my beyblade into the palm of my hand, feeling the hot metal amongst my fingers calmed me down slightly just as the Chief appeared in the clearing, his face red and dripping of sweat. He bent over, his breathing hitched before then looking up at me and saying "Tyson! I yelled for you to slow up!"

I muttered something in reply and turned my back to him and faced the ocean. I could swear we had spent many days, training and laughing here. The thought of all that made me sick to my stomach. I leaned against the railing, sighing and staring aimlessly at the clouds. I wondered where Kai was. Who would have thought that the loner, of all people would turn out to be the only loyal friend of all? Minus The Chief who had now staggered over me.

"Tyson, are you okay?"

Was I okay? How could I be? My so-called best friends had ran out on me, ditched me in an attempt to steal my title as the world champion. Friendship meant nothing to them and this killed me. However, me and Dragoon were not going to go down without a fight. They wanted a battle, I'd give them a war! I spun round and aimed for the large Oak tree behind us. "LET IT RIP!"

VIOLENT POV

I blinked my eyes in wonder as I awoke to the sound of the pilot announcing that we had begun our descent into Tokyo airport. I pulled myself into a comfortable sitting position and yanked open my window. The clouds had disappeared and I could clearly make out skyscrapers and other buildings in the distance. It all looked so foreign and different to the sites of Europe. Part of me was scared behind compare which was odd because I was always a naturally adventurous type of girl. I had been to thousands of towns and cities, explored every back street alley and met many wonderful people who had taught me that in life, there are no back seat passengers. You have to put yourself out there or risk never experiencing anything. I had done it all myself and never needed anyone to rescue or assist me in making my dreams come true. No one except my best friend and loyal Bit-beast, Nercissa; the beautiful siren of the seas. The day I met her will always be imprinted into my mind. When I seven years ago, exactly 1 year before my mum died, we used to live on the coast of England. It was here I had discovered a private cave where I used to go to explore and practice beyblading as well as splash around in the small wave pools and climb along the cave walls. However one day, despite being heavily warned by mum that there a heavy storm was expected, I sneaked out and ran to the cove. I would get lost in my own little world and pretend that I was the worlds greatest beyblader, running around on the edge of the rock pools and always managing to stay safe. Just as I was getting ready to launch, there was a flash of lightening and I screamed, losing my footing and falling into the water. Usually the water was only knee deep but due to the heavy storm raging outside, the cave had been flooded. I plunged into the water and desperately attempted to resurface, gasping for air. My tiny little seven body thrashed around and in result, ended up stubbing my toe against the cave wall. Blood gushed out and suddenly I began to feel dizzy and light headed. Eventurally my body ended up collapsing and I sunk under the water as a giant wave burst into the cave, slamming me against the back wall. As I sunk deeper and deeper, my body and mind sinking into a deep slumber, it was obvious that I would not survive. Suddenly, my beyblade which had been floating alongside me, as soon as it touched the tips of my fingers, began to burst into light. It was so blinding that my mind and body were awakened from its water slumber. My eyes slowly adjusted to the light and from the light, appeared a magnificent creature; a woman with cascading gold hair that ran all the way down her scaly yet strong back. She emerged from the light with a flick of her large red tail. In her hands, she held a shining bow equipped with a arrow. Her face was incredibly enticing and were features were perfectly sculptured. Her eyes were the most striking. Her eyes were bright balls of fire and shone with the light of the sun, paraslying anything in her sight. I reached out with my fingers and I could make out the creature smile. With a strong flick of her tail, she swam towards me and linked her fingers with mine. Then, she began to sing, a soft voice that filled my head with peace and suddenly, the pain that was driving me closer to death disappeared. The light captured us both and I could feel her power grow inside me. We floated up to the surface and she stopped singing, stared into my eyes and spoke, in her powerful booming voice "Violet, you have released me from my rock prison and I will be forever grateful to you. You are the chosen one to wield my power and I will serve you for all of time. I will save you and we will be the most powerful team in all the world. Violet, my master."

Next thin g I know, I was lying on the edge of the cave, coughing up water, my light purple hair draped over my face with my mum screaming and hysterically crying. She pulled me up and hugged me as I attempted to get my breath. She grabbed me and called me a stupid silly little girl but then embraced me, with tears pouring from her eyes. Later that night as I lying in bed, I got an idea. Maybe I was dreaming about the enchanting mermaid that saved my life? Yeah, that had to be it! I reached out for my beyblade sitting on the night stand but as I did, it began to glow. I gasped and jumped back. Suddenly, an alluring voice appeared inside my head and I knew from that moment that I, Violet Thomspson, had a Bit-Beast.

My fingers danced over my beyblade as I held Nercissa in the palm of my hand. She was the most precious item in the world. My love and determination to protect her was partially the reason why I had refused to enter any tournaments. If I lost her, I would also lose a huge part of myself and I was not willing to risk that. Until now. Why I had allowed Mr Dickinson to talk me into getting on a plane and flying half way round the world so I could enter his new tag team Beyblade championship was still a mystery. Was it because I felt guilty for accepting his money for all these years in order to travel around Europe? Or was it because maybe I had some hidden desire to explore other parts of world? As the plane hit the ground with a bumpy halt, I winced as a gripped the arm rest. I could hear Nercissa calming me down inside my head but I was still unsure. Unsure about why I was here and why Mr Dickinson was so set on making me participate in his tournament. Either way, as the plane doors re-opened and I stepped out, slinging my bag over my shoulder, I knew there was no turning back.


	3. Chapter 3

TYSON POV

Why the hell does this kid refuse to leave me alone?!

This little annoying kid with red hair and the ability to drive me to the brink of insanity had been following me around town all week! It made it even more difficult to practice with him around. He announced himself as Daichi and so far, had refused to give me any time to myself. And here I thought Hilary was the annoying person on this Earth. With the preliminary round of the tournament just a few days away, I still needed to get some practice in and that was proving rather difficult. The only peace of mind that this tournament gave me was that with Kai, Daichi wouldn't stand a chance at becoming my tag team partner and it would just us two to take on the world. And until then, I suppose teaching this kid to put his beyblade where his mouth was wouldn't do any harm.

VIOLET POV

Opening the door a crack, I could see the faces of the many excited hopefuls bustling around the room getting ready for the next round of bey battles. Many young faces, clearly in over their head. But who's to say they shouldn't try to achieve their dreams? My mum always pushed me to go for it in whatever I wanted to do. I sadly turn away and walk towards the entrance to the stadium. The next match was mine and was the final of Group B. If I won this, I'd be going directly to the Tag Team championships as a member of the BBA representative team. I pulled Nercissa out of pouch fastened tightly around the small waist and held her in my hands. I closed my eyes tightly and felt her glow surround me. We connected as one and I felt more powerful than I had ever. I opened my eyes which were now glowing with her fire and smiled. It was time to win.

TYSON POV

"Where is Kai?" I shouted above the noise of the roaring Beyblade fans at Kenny, who was standing next to me in the VIP stand. Next to him was Hilary who was pouting and tapping her foot in my direction, moody as always and next to her was the famous Mr Dickinson, the chairman of the BBA. Ever since he first assembled the Bladebreakers, you never quite knew what was going on in this crazy old man's head. Still, he had given me the opportunity to travel the world, battling good and evil along the way so in my eyes, he was as good as they get. I turned my attention to DJ Jazz Man who was rambling on about how exciting the preliminaries had been and that it was finally time for the final match. Much to my surprise, Kai had been absent from the entire tournament. I had badgered Mr Dickinson about this, perhaps he had already qualified and this part of the tournament was to decide who would be my backup partner? Yeah, that had to be it! Smirking, I put my hands above my head and turn to the adoring crowd cheering my name. Boy, does being world champion have its perks sometimes! Suddenly, the lights went down, signalling the match was beginning and out bursts a ball of red haired energy, bouncing around the stadium. Rolling my eyes and suddenly feeling the urge to tear my hair out, I turn to the Chief and say "so who's Daichi battling against? He any good?"

The Chief taps his glasses, clears his throat and responds with "well Tyson, from what I've heard the challenger is relatively unknown so I can't give you a clear analysis. But I can tell you that…"

"Shhhh!"

"Well folks! It's been one heck of a preliminary tournament but it's finally time to finally find WHO will be special blader to partner with our very world champion Tyson Granger! Here we go: DAICHI VS…VIOLET!"

Raising an eyebrow at The Chief who simply shrugs his shoulders I turn to the other entrance and watch as a small figure emerges. As the figure comes into focus, I'm shocked. Floating towards the dish is a small young girl, roughly about sixteen or seventeen. As she walks, her long waist length purple hair swishes around her and I can see she's clenching her fists. Her face is heart shaped and she bites her blood red lips hard as she walks forward. She's wearing a black crop top, showing off her perfectly toned stomach that sports a small belly button piercing. Hanging loosely on her hips are matching black cargo pants, equipped with a gold belt that holds her shooter which is shaped as a bow and arrow. As she walks up the steps, she tucks her hair behind her ears and I notice she's wearing matching gold fingerless gloves. She turns towards Daichi and for a second, she seems that her entire body is shaking. However, she opens her eyes and I can't help but instantly wonder who this girl is. The girl with the red eyes.

"Ready!" she snaps at DJ Jazz Man and turns, pulling her bow back and licking her lips slowly and breathing.

"Well, I have no idea who you are but there is no way I am going to lose to a girl so you better get ready to lose!" Daichi stubbornly proclaims, pulling his Strata Dragoon out and jumping into his stance too.

"Yo! Daichi! Win the match before you go running your smart mouth off! "

"Stay out of this Tyson!"

For some reason, at the mention of my name, her head snaps round in my direction. We lock eyes for a second before she turns back to the stadium and I can't put my finger on but there's an eerie feeling in the air. Somehow I seriously doubt that this match will be as easy as Daichi is so convinced it will be.

"Get ready, 3, 2, 1! LET IT RIIIIIIIP!"

VIOLET POV

Whipping my shooter back and letting my blade rip through the air, I let out a powerful roar. My blade hits the dish and instantly starts to swerve and dodge all of Daichi's attacks, much to his outrage.

"Will you just stand still? Strata Dragoon, let's show her who's boss!" Daichi shouts at me, his fists clenched and his rage blinding him. His blade lights up and his Bit-beast roars to life and begins his attack.

My lips curve upwards in a small smirk and I flick up my eyelashes and narrow my eyes. It's time to start the attack.

"Nercissa, lets show this fool who he is realty messing with!" I shout as my blade turns on the spot and glides towards Daichi's blade. I toss my hair back and close my eyes. As always, my hair starts to rise on ends and I can feel the gasps of the crowd as my entire body covers itself in a small golden glow. Taking a breath, I snap open my eyes and yell which Nercissa takes heed to and viciously starts to attack Strata Dragoon. My blade rips and slams into Strata Dragoon until suddenly, with one final powerful blow; it goes hurtling out of the stadium and hits the floor, with a thud, the blade covered in red scratch matches. Daichi gasps and becomes frozen, slowly sinking to his knees, his lips trembling from a battle that frankly, he never stood a chance in winning. I breathe out, causing my hair to return its original colour and I smile, calling Nercissa back into my palm. As the crowds explode into a thunderous cheer, I'm startled. I run a hand through my hair and awkwardly look around as random people start chanting my name. This is not something I'm used to.

"…our winner is VIOLET!" DJ Jazz Man explodes, jumping down beside me. I smile, biting my bottom lip and folding my arms across my chest, my cheeks blushing slightly from the attention.

"She will be joining Tyson in the BBA representative team in this year's world championships! And hopefully these two will be our official world champion tag team!"

Wow! My head starts to spin as I pull my gloves back into place and start to grin like an idiot. Me? A world champion? Before I get a chance to ponder the mere possibility, that kid I was battling has attached himself to my feet and started pulling and pleading for me to show him how blade like I do.

"Pleeeeeease, you have to show me how you beat me! I've never seen anyone blade like you, that was amazing! Pleeeeease! "he squeals as I try to politely de-attach myself from him but as I do he keeps grabbing me, eventually jumping onto my back. We jump around for a good solid few minutes as my temper soars higher and higher until I feel the weight being lifted off. Confused, I turn round to find Daichi harassing someone else: a taller teenage boy who seems to have as little time for monkey boys as I do. I look the boy up and down, trying to access who he is. He's a spiky haired boy with blue hair that is tucked neatly under a red and blue cap. Intrigued, I step closer to the boys who have yet to notice my presence as they start to scream and shout at each other. I clear my throat in attempt to attract their attention but they just continue to get louder. Impatient, I fire my beyblade, knocking off the boys cap. They both say "huh" as Nercissa lands back into my palm, along with the boys cap.

"I believe this is yours?" I hold the hat up, raising an eyebrow at the scene in front of me. Blinking in confusion, the boy shoves Daichi to the side, resulting in him losing his balance and falling down the podium stairs. The boy approaches me and smiles, a warm friendly kind of smile and I hand him the hat. He turns it round and readjusts it unto his head before looking at me. I notice how his eyes are an odd but very nice colour of grey. "He seems nice" I think to myself, tucking Nercissa back into my pouch as I notice someone familiar approaching us both.

"Mr Dickinson!" we both exclaim before turning to each other in confusion.

"I see you have both made yourself familiar to one and another." He smiles, leaning on his cane.

"Actually, Mr D I was just about to introduce myself. The names Tyson." He says, holding his hand out to greet me.

"Violet." I respond, shaking his hand as another boy, this time smaller and wearing large glasses and a girl, wearing a noticeably short skirt come running up to join us. Not being one to enjoy being part of a large group, I take a step back.

"Hey! It's no problem, Violet, these are my friends! Kenny aka The Chief because he knows EVERYTHING about computers and beyblading. Go on, tell her chief!" Tyson says, nudging him with his elbow, causing the chief to lose grip of the laptop in his hands. It falls to the floor and he explodes but naturally, my fast reflects catch it. I pass it back as he thanks me and gives a death glare at Tyson who looks scared at the sudden outburst.

"Not going to introduce me Tyson!" a squeaky voice pipes up. Tyson groans and says "do I have to?" before receiving a sore slap to the side of the face. I wince at the sight of this scene unfolding in front of me and wonder who could this very dramatic person be. A skinny brown haired teen steps up and holds her hand out before saying "since this buffoon isn't going to introduce me, I'm Hilary, I don't blade or anything but I'm a sure great cheerleader!" She holds a peace sign up before putting a hand on her hips and pouting.

"Great!" I respond, smiling eagerly, pulling back my hand quickly. Because who doesn't love sickly sweet c cheerleaders who annoy the heck out of everyone?

"Now that everyone is acquainted with one another, there is also someone else I would love you kids to meet!" Mr Dickinson replies, holding his arm out to introduce a mysterious tall character standing at the edge of the dish.

"Gin of the Gail!" Tyson bellows. "But what are you doing here? Back for another match? I can take you!"

"No Tyson, he is here to coach you throughout the tournament."

"What, why did you pick him?!"

The man responds as he reaches up to his face and removes a mask. There are gasps of shock from Tyson and I instantly start to see his eyes well up with tears. He wipes them away with his shirt sleeve.

"Hiro?"

"Yes Tyson, it's me." Hiro says, smiling. Tyson runs to this man and hugs him. There is severe confusion on my part but I just run with it. I had my own mysteries to concern myself with. It was a little while later that I was informed that Hiro or "Gin of the Gail" was in fact Tyson's older brother, Hiro. He had been away for many years, travelling and this was the first time Tyson had seen him since he was little. Or so he had thought. Hiro had been around for a few months, watching Tyson and testing him. In order to win the tournament he would need plenty of practice and hard work and determination especially since he was now expected to go up against his former team mates, Rei Kon and Max Tate. And this is where I fit in.

"Mr Dickinson, is this why I'm here? To help Tyson win against his Ex best friends? Cause now I'm thinking that perhaps I came all this way from London for nothing." I speak up and everyone turns towards me. Mr D simply smiles and puts a comforting hand on my back and says "my dear, it's not just that you're here for. "

"But what else could it be? I'm tired of being told I've go here and go there and never being told why and what for!"

"In time Violet, for now just enjoy the fact that you-and Tyson-are officially the BBA representatives for the world championships! Isn't that incredibly exciting?" he declares as the crowd once again bursts into a chorus of cheers and chants. Now even for someone as calm as myself, I can't help to get a little excited by all this. I laugh to myself as Mr Dickinson pushes me and Tyson together as a swarm of newspaper journalists and reporters invade us. I panic a little and start to look all around while Tyson simply laughs and puts one arm around my shoulders and whispers in my ear "Don't worry. I'll show you the ropes."

"Tyson!"

"Tyson!"

"Yes, you with the weird moustache thing!" Tyson says and everyone just blinks at his stupid remark. My face was completely gobsmacked. What had I got myself in for?

"Will you be continuing as the Bladebreakers? I mean, half your team has gone and deflected to their own teams? Will you change your team name? "

"Gosh, you know I never thought of that." Tyson blinks in surprise looking at me who simply shrugs back at him. Heck, don't look at me. "I suppose we should really have a new name. How about BBA Rock and Roll…!"

I quickly slap a hand over his yammering mouth before he says another stupid and frankly embarrassing sentence. For someone so friendly, he sure is gobby!

"How about… BBA Revolution?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Yes! We're finally here!" Tyson proclaims as the mini bus that we had been driving in slowly grinds to a halt. I groan and stretch, rubbing my eyes to awake myself. According to Hiro, this trip should be an excellent way to focus our skills and really start to work as a team. The screen door slides open with a squeak and Tyson jumps out, grinning widely. I follow him, helping the Chief to carry his many heavy bags and his laptop which he was struggling with since Little Miss Perfect was far too concerned with re applying her lip gloss and stand around pining for Tyson to compliment her. She was far too vain, even by the female genders standards. I step off the bus and feel a gust of wind sweep past me. I breathe through my nose and smile, the smell of the forests always calmed me. We were smack dap in the middle of a mountain terrain, surrounded by Oak trees and a stream that ran for miles. I had settled down in a small hostel very similar to this when I stayed in Holland for a few months during my travels. It was there I fought against the members of the mountain beyblade tribe. They taught me things that no official tournament or Beyblade organisation could teach, even one as supportive as the BBA. I then noticed that Daichi he had packed surprisingly light. We were set to stay for roughly two weeks and he was currently carrying…nothing.

"Um, Daichi where is your luggage?" I mentioned causing everyone to turn and study the empty handed kid.

"Yeah Daichi! Don't you have any clean underwear? Toothbrush? " Tyson accuses. To which Daichi raises a finger and points at Tyson's bag. Oh dear. And suddenly, it had started again, the constant bickering. Shaking my head, I flick my long purple bangs out of my eyes and start towards the door of the complex. I study the building and smile, happy with the condition. I'm awaken out of my daydream when Hiro bursts out and starts telling us it's time to get down to work.

"But coach Hiro shouldn't we wait for Kai to arrive?" Hilary pipes up, still half way through applying her lip gloss. Even I have to agree with the Barbie doll. Where was the famous Kai? It had been a week since the tournament and despite Tyson constantly reassuring everyone that Kai would always be part of the team and he was simply being the loner he is; I had my doubts about him.

"Kai quit the team."

"What!" everyone exclaimed at once while I simply raised my eyebrow in shock. I knew it, he was no team player.

"You have got to be kidding! No chance this is real!"

"It is. He sent an official message to BBA HQ this morning, stating his withdrawal. So forget Kai and practice on your training because he's long gone." Hiro replies, his voice deadly serious. "Forget Kai? Forget Kai!" Tyson shouts, his voice getting higher as his anger rose. "How can we forget Kai?"

"Cause he's already forgotten you!" Tyson jumps back, taken off guard by his brother's reply.

"He walked away. He left the team. He is never coming back. So you better get your act together and become a proper team or else you stand no chance in beating anyone in the tournament!"

"Then I quit too!" Tyson stubbornly shouts back, turning his back from everyone. This grabs my attention. Even if Tyson is hot headed and annoying at times, he is still a friendly and down- right easily hurt people and I cared for him. From everything the Chief has filled me in on, the last months couldn't be easy.

"Tyson, don't!" I join in, grabbing his wrist tightly. He tries to pull away from me but I maintain my grip.

"Tyson I understand how you must be feeling right now. But you have to move on. Kai sure has! And you have a title to defend, you can't let the fact that some people are willing to put that before friendship stand in the way from showing everyone that you still and will always be the best. I'm here, aren't I? And I know you must be thinking, what good is that? Some girl who I've known a week is NOT going to replace friendships that been formed and maintained over years of gruelling training and many hard and difficult battles. But I promise I will fight my very hardest to show everyone that they made the mistake when they left this team. The winning team!"

The whole time Tyson is staring off in the distance his fists clenched and I can feel that he must be very emotional. I hope my words have gotten through to him and I feel his response as his body loosens up a bit. I smile slightly and let go of his wrist and put a comforting hand on his back.

"Don't waste your words on my little brother Violet. He's weak." Hiro declares, resulting his Tyson returning back round.

"Don't you dare say that!"

"But it is true, isn't it Tyson? You have become so dependent on Kai that beyblading with anyone else scares the living daylights out of you. Even with someone that could take you all the way to the finals and beyond, you are weak. But go on and choose whether you will bey battle with, Daichi or Violet?"

Tyson looks up at me, his grey eyes speak uncertainty. He sighs and says "Violet, you will be my new tag team partner. And yes, you're no Kai. But you're the best I've got."

"I won't let you down Tyson."

One of the many things I had gotten really good at over the years was reading people's emotions and I will let you know, Tyson's emotions was going crazy. As I watched as he kept re-shooting his beyblade at this log, floating along a river, I couldn't help but grow increasingly angry at the so-called friends who had done this to him. Don't get me wrong, if I was stuck for 2 whole years, working my butt off and never getting a chance to show the world that I was worthy of a championship title too, I'd be pretty pissed off but there's always a line that should never be crossed it in any friendship. And they crossed it. So as I observed Tyson, fail continuously to land Dragoon on the log and then explode into a frenzy of rage I understood what Mr Dickinson had meant by this tournament destroying the bladebreakers. For here was there beloved champion, a person that everyone adored, acting like a psycho maniac because simply he had stabbed in the back by the three people he thought he could depend on no matter what. It was so tragic.

"Tyson, come on buddy. Stop moping and get your head in the game. Your stance needs to be adjusted." I say, jumping up from my position on the grass and walking over to Tyson.

"Let me help…"

"No, I've got it!" he spits back at me, pulling his arm and body away from me. I sigh and run my hand across my forehead in frustration.

"Tyson, please you have to listen to me…"

"Why should I? What do you know about blading? You've never even been in a major tournament before." He angrily throws back at me, picking up a wet Dragoon from the stream.

"Yes, I know that. But it's not like I'm a rookie or anything. I have been beyblading since I was a kid." I casually reply, hoping this will be the last of the arguments.

"I'M the world champion so I say how and where we practice "he demands, yet again firing his blade and missing the log. I sigh in defeat and think that maybe it's time to go in a different direction.

"How about we go for a jog? Jogs are good?" I offer, carefully trying not to anger the teen any further.

"Fine!"

We start jogging at a slow pace, Tyson edging out in front of me. I get the feeling that he wants to run away from me, fun away from the world and even more, the feeling that is constantly ripping him apart each day. So I jog faster. He looks at me, startled that I can actually keep up. People assume that as a girl, I'm delicate and fragile but boy, are they wrong. Winking as I pass him, I break into a fast run as we sail down the hill. Soon, we are both sprinting flat out, our breathing getting faster and our feet tearing up the path. We soon find we have ran in a complete circle and we've returned to the clearing with the river. Tyson bends down as I lie on the back on the grass, my eyes shut and my chest rising as I desperately search for air. After a few minutes, I sit back up and notice Tyson has disappeared. Hmm, where could that boy have gone to?

After a few minutes of searching, I see he has sat cross legged at the river, his head in his hands. My heart goes out to the poor boy. I skip over to him and sit next to him.

"You alright dude?"

He shakes his head defeatedly and sighs. Not knowing what exactly to do, I notice Dragoon is sitting on the ground beside us. I slowly take her in my hands, gracefully tracing my fingers over the blade. As a blader I understand just how every curve, crack and mark left on your blade from each match is defining in what kind of blader you are. Some are proud of the fact their blade is spotless and others see the visual display of their wounds as a sign of great strength. I run my finger across Dragoon's bit kip and smile.

"She sure is a magnificent creature." I compliment, looking at Tyson who barely even acknowledges me.

"You're not alone you know. Despite what you think, you still have your best friend with you. And you always will." I silently say, putting Dragoon the ground and getting up. I dust myself off and turn on my heels. I was so done with this pity party shit. No way was I going to sit around and try and cheer this guy up. If he couldn't see that it's everyone else at fault and not himself, then he is weak and I'm off. Suddenly, as I reach the path to take me back the way we came, I hear a sound that catches my attention. I spin round on my heels and race back, to find Tyson standing firmly on his feet, his shooter gripped tightly in his hand and Dragoon spinning triumphantly on the log. I start to grin like a chesire cat and put my hands on Tyson's shoulders.

"You did it!"

"Yeah." He replies, turning round to face me. His eyes are wet with tears and I feel like throwing my arms around him and comforting him. "But your right. Dragoon is my best friend and I'm a fool to sit around and feel sorry for myself. When I have Dragoon, I should never be unhappy, you're a great friend Violet for making me realise that. Thanks."

"Finally, I'm getting through that thick skull of yours Tyson." I think happily to myself.

"No problem Tyson. "

"Em Violet?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Hiro will be mad at us for running off today?"

"Tyson, I know he will be mad. What I don't know is how many laps we're gonna have to do to make up for it…or crunches…or press ups…or more crunches…"

"Crap."

Yes Tyson. Oh crap indeed.


	5. Chapter 5

Over the next two weeks, Tyson and I were definitely put through our paces. We worked like we had never worked before. As well as that, we really started to begin to work as a team. Even Daichi and Tyson had calmed down on the constant arguing. Heck, I didn't even find Hilary as annoying as I usually do. The thing I found most puzzling was how close me and Tyson had gotten lately. I suppose it has a lot to do with the amount of time we spent together and how we had accepted that we needed 100% trust in the other if we were to win the championships but I had never felt something like this before. Tyson had told me everything about life, from his love for blading to about his grandpa's dream for him to master the martial art skill just like him and in return, I had told him all about the places I'd been and what I learned. There was only thing I hadn't told him. Or anyone else for that matter. However, one night, we were sitting in my room, casually watching TV. I was propped up on my elbows on the bed, my hair scrapped back in a high ponytail, strands of hair hanging loosely at the sides of my hair. Tyson was passed out on the couch, snoring loudly and his mouth ajar, drooling. I laughed to myself as I rolled myself on my back and stared at the ceiling. I felt my eyes start to drift and I smiled as I started to fall asleep. Suddenly, Tyson started to stir and my eyes snapped open. I sat up and stared at the boy, his face suddenly clouded with a pained expression. His mouth twitched and his nose wrinkled, his eyebrows pointed down in a confused and angry manner. Suddenly, his breathing started to increase and he started to fidget in his sleep. I slide off the couch and crawled over towards him, getting close to his face as I observed his sleep. He started to mumble in his sleep.

"Mum?" he asked, causing my own face to fill with pain. "Mum, where's mum?"

Suddenly, his voice began to rise considerably and he was soon shouting and thrashing violently in his sleep. Concerned, I put both my hands on the side of his face and softly started to say his name.

"Tyson? Wake up, it's me Violet!"

"No, no! I want my mum! Please" he screams as unexpectedly, his right hand swings up and catches me off guard and hitting me across the face. With an "oft!" I stumble backwards and hit the floor. I groan and rub my sore face. I get to my feet and jump on the couch. I start pulling and poking at Tyson in a desperate and failing attempt to awake him. His legs swing upwards and push me forward resulting in my body flying accidentally forward and land with a thud on Tyson' body, my legs draped over his sides and my face inches away from his. Groaning from the fall, I put my hands on his chest and lift my face up slightly, watching his face change. His eyes then flick open and widen as he observes my awkward positioning. My face grows red and I jump backwards and stand up, running my hand over my face and begin to apologise.

"Em, sorry Tyson. Eh you were sleep talking and ummm, I was just trying to help…" I stumble over my words as I sit back on my bed, hugging my knees.

Tyson slowly pulls himself into an upright sitting position, stares at the carpet while chewing his lip and the room is silent. The awkward silence is unbearable so I pull myself closer to Tyson and cock my head to the side, asking "what were you dreaming about? It seemed pretty upsetting."

He looks up at me through his thick black eyelashes and I can sense I have hit a point of pain. I decide to back off.

"Hey man, its okay. You don't need to tell me, it's cool." I say, holding my hands up in defeat and sliding away. As I turn away, I feel something grab my hand and swing me round. I look at Tyson who has grabbed my hand and he is staring at the carpet, tears racing down his cheeks.

"Tyson, what's wrong?" I ask softly and compassionately, sitting next to him, becoming unaware of the fact we are still clutching each other's hands.

"My mum…" he whispers, his voice crackling and tears running even faster from his eyes. I inched closer in curiosity.

"She died when I was baby. I was so young I didn't even get to know her. But that doesn't mean I don't miss her. I miss her more than anyone could know."

My heart begins to break and I bite my lip, feeling my eyes begin to well up from the poor boys story. I can completely sympathise.

"..and sometimes I dream about her. Sure, I've seen lots of photos of her. She was so beautiful. She had this wonderful mess of curly silver hair, you know like the colour of Hiro's? And she was so tall like you know, Hiro yet again. Everyone always says Hiro looks her and I dunno, I'm not jealous but it's not fair that he got to know her more than I did AND look like her. She's my mum too. I love her just as much!" he bumbles, sniffling and burying his head in his arms. Instinctively I wrap my arms around his shoulders, feeling his body rise and fall as he cries his heart out. Suddenly, my own eyes are dripping wet from tears and I'm crying too, both for his broken heart and my own.

"Why are you crying?" he mentions, casting his eyes up at me.

The clock ticks by and I can't even bring myself to answer. I'm too lost in my own pain to even reply.

"Violet?" it was Tyson's turn to stop crying and offer a supportive shoulder to cry on.

"I know how it feels. To lose your mum." I whisper, my eyes glued shut and my lips tightly pressed together in a desperate attempt to keep it together.

"My mum died when I was eight. She was my absolute world. I never even knew my father so she was all I had and she did everything to make sure I was happy; I've never loved anyone like I loved her. But one day, she got really sick…she was bed ridden for months…" I cry, wrapping my short arms round my chest, my spirit starting to sink with every whimper.

"Doctors would constantly come and go; she would be in so much pain day in and day out. It broke my heart seeing her in such condition. She got weaker every day; there was nothing anyone could do. The strongest women I had ever known was dying, right in front of my eyes…until finally, she was gone. "

I slide off the couch and burst into floods of tears. I hadn't been in this much pain for months. Usually I hid it all, deep way down inside me, in the caverns of my heart. Yet somehow, this one boy could get me to open up, more than I could to anyone. And it confused me.

"Violet." Tyson whispers, embracing me in a warm hug. He holds me tightly against his chest as I sob violently. I place my hands around his neck, holding tightly to the one person who has held me in such a loving way since my mum died. It felt nice. I had rejected anyone who tried over the years because it never felt right. Never felt right to love when the person with the biggest heart and all the room in the world to love everyone had been taken away so unfairly.

"She loved you and that's the only important thing here, don't forget it. She's in a better place now and I know that will never make it easier to get through the day but she would never want to see you like this. She will always love you, no matter what."

Tyson's words were surprisingly soothing and I don't know but maybe because he was also experiencing the gut wrenching, heart destroying feeling of losing a parent that I listened to him and felt my spirit lift with each word. I don't know how long we lay there on the floor, Tyson's legs entwined with mine, his hands running down my back, calming me and my soul shaking sobs. My head was buried deep in his chest, his chin resting on my head. His body radiated heat and this was such a beautiful feeling. I never wanted him to let go. But eventually we did, once every tear had been shed and we rose to the couch. He looked at me, his eyes glistening with something other than pain, hope.

"One step at a time." He whispered, squeezing my hand and I felt my chest lift with happiness. No-one ever understood me like Tyson understood me. No-one.


	6. Chapter 6

Despite how much I had grown to love Tyson's and the team's company, a girl still needed some time to herself. And what better place to be herself is in NYC, city of dreams. Catching an early flight out for the start of the tournament was a great idea. It allowed me to sneak off and do some sight- seeing, not like there wasn't anything I hadn't already seen. Still, as I sat at the edge of an abandoned motel roof top, staring out at the city, I couldn't help feeling that I am only a small and insignificant part of life. I watch as the bustling crowds of people push their way down the street, trying to get to wherever they need to be. My legs dangled downwards and I leaned backwards. I looked overhead to see a bunch of aeroplanes zoom over me and I wondered if they were the planes carrying this year's crème of da crop-the worlds chosen Tag Teams. I knew for sure that the PBA All Stars had qualified with Max and some guy named Rick Anderson; they would have the home team advantage this week. The chief had calculated that we should stand more than just a formidable chance against them. "The data never lies" Kenny would proudly point out. For me, I wasn't so convinced. I believed that the tiniest outside factor could tip the scales whether that was strength, knowledge, offense or even coming down to how much that individual blader really wanted to win. Beyblade was always more than just a game to bladers like me, it was life.

"Hey, you! Get off my roof!"

I crane my head round to see a girl, dressed in tattered clothing standing threateningly at me. Her hair was limp at her sides, the dead ends tangled and sticking to her skin. Her skin was naturally pale but covered in brown patches of mud that had dried in. Behind the dirt and grim, I could tell she must be a very beautiful girl. A little water, clean clothes and a bit more food and she would be an angel.

I stand up slowly, my feet planted firmly on the edge of the building and face her. Our eyes connect and we face each other, the wind whistling past us.

She grips her teeth and points a neatly chewed fingernail at me and shouts "Get out now, this is my home."

"Hey, I don't want any trouble," I shake my head, holding my hands up in defence.

"Then, get down and go away!"

"Sure." And with that, I step back and fall off the edge. As I hurtle through the air backwards, I hear a curdling scream as the girl races to the edge and desperately reach out to grab me who am now falling through the air towards the pavement. I smirk as I feel the air run through my body, my toes going numb as the adrenaline pumps through me. As I'm falling through the air, I kick forward, turning my body round into an upright position. I raise a hand upwards and close my fist around the hotel flag that was dangling from the second floor, this slows my fall and I'm able to catapult my body into a front flip, landing me securely on the sidewalk. I stand in a kneeled position and with a smirk, I turn to the roof and raise two fingers in a salute to the girl and with that, I take my leave.

After walking several blocks, feeling dry and thirsty, I spot a very quaint coffee shop, just a small distance from the hotel. Opening the door, I notice it's deserted, apart from a man reading a paper in the corner. I waltz to the counter and order a latte. The warmth sends my fingers into a delightful frenzy as the cashier hands it to me in which I hand him a five dollar bill. Concerned with taking my change and thinking about what Tyson would be up to about now, I turn round, stuffing my change into my pocket, unaware of the person standing rather close behind me in the queue. I bump into him, sending me spiralling backwards, my latte falling to the floor. I hit the ground in an undignified fashion- face first. My hair is spattered across my face, sticking to my pale pink lipstick that ironically, I had just applied before walking into the shop. I peel my hair from my eyes saying "I'm so SO sorry; I hope I didn't get any coffee on you. I…"

I stop in my tracks as I look upwards to see a very tall young man with flaming hot red hair, glaring down at me, one eyebrow raised in a "what the heck are you" manner. Feeling my cheeks flare up with embarrassment, I clear my throat and attempt to pull myself to my feet. However, I let out a hiss of pain as my left foot is in agony. I clutch my foot, confused.

"Here." He says, bending down to my height. I turn my head to the side as he touches my foot, pressing down my certain parts. I let out an agonising cry as he touches my ankle which is red and swollen.

"Can you stand?" he asks, barely even looking at me as he says it. I shake my head, wriggling my toes to try and get life back in my feet. He then stands and I fear he's going to leave me sitting here like an idiot. Luckily, he puts his hands around my upper arms and lifts me effortlessly to my feet. I acknowledge that he appears to be quite muscular and I mentally slap myself for even admitting that I think that. He stands back from me, to see if I can walk and I take a step, instantly feeling my left foot give way. Quick as a flash, he catches me as a fall, a strong arm encircling my waist and pulls me back into a standing position. As he pulls me back up, I lift my head and I sneak a peek at his face. I'm spot on about his muscular appearance; his cheek bones are high and define his face. His eyes flick open and I can feel that his eyes can see into the soul. I look away, feeling my cheeks yet again burst into an embarrassed shade of red.

"Well I better get going, thank you…" I pull away, sorting myself out. I attempt to step away, the pain searing through my body. I hiss through my teeth but refuse to turn round to which is a guy with a bemused expression watching my every movement. I take very small steps, eventually dragging my foot behind me. I push open the door and fall through it, sinking to the pavement in a defeated fashion.

"Having trouble?"

The guy is leaning against the side of the building, his lips turning upwards at the left in a very entertained smirk. My insides boil up with rage and humiliation as I snap back "No! I'm just having a little rest that's all. Like it concerns you."

"You were the one who nearly scolded me with boiling hot coffee…"

"Hey!" I defend, wobbling as I get to my feet. This (honestly, very attractive guy) is starting to piss me off. I turn on my heels and begin to slink away, not very fast; heck snails would get their faster than I could.

Suddenly, I feel my legs being lifted off the ground. I look up to see the smirking man has taken me in his arms, bridal style.

"What do you think you're doing!"

"I'd have to be a truly evil person to leave a young girl, defenceless on the streets of New York in the condition you're in. Now, shut up and tell me where you're going."

"Hey! I can take care of myself, perfectly fine bub!"

"Fine! Now shut your mouth and tell me, where you're going!"

"Madison Park Hotel on 3rd Street." I say, folding my arms across my chest and turning my head away. I can feel people stare at us as we walk through the street, me being the helpless damsel I'm so destined to be. I try to hide my face as even some cars slow down, honk their horns and give the guy currently carrying me, a thumbs- up, complete with wolf whistling and other rude gestures. "New Yorkers, worst people ever" I think to myself angrily.

After what feels like an eternity, we come to the automatic doors at the Madison Park Hotel. I thought we were safe from anymore stupid remarks and I breath a very relieved sigh as a smiling bell hop runs up to us and excitedly says "Welcome to the Madison Park Hotel, congratulations on your wedding. So pleased you have chosen the Madison Park Hotel for your honeymoon. Now, have you any bags I can take for yo…"

"Bite me!" I snarl, finally reaching my limit. The guy chuckles to himself as we make our way to the elevator in which I press the sixth floor.

"Um, you can let me down now."

"Not a chance."

Who even is this guy? The elevator zooms up and strangely not a single person gets in to my delight. Finally, we come to the sixth floor and I tell him, it's room 629, the last room at the end of the fall. I pray Tyson's either not in or fast asleep. He would never let me forget this. We stop at the door and he drops me up to feet. Clutching the wall for support, I start to thank him but he's already turned and started to walk away. I walk him walking away, blinking both confused and intrigued. I build up the courage and shout back as he steps into the elevator.

"Hey! Whats your name?"

As the doors close, he opens his mouth and says "Tala" before disappearing, back into the city that never sleeps, leaving me wondering if we'll ever cross paths again.

"Unlikely." I think, entering the room, returning back to normality aka, Tyson and Daichi screaming at each other. Home sweet home.


	7. Chapter 7

TYSON POV

I don't know what it was but since Violet had her 'little accident' she had been a bit off with me. She's always distracted and constantly seemed to be in a daydream. On a blading level, she was as powerful as always and I was so thankful. I had grown very fond of Violet, so much that even though I would never admit it to her, that I needed her around, both for the tournament and for maintaining my own sanity. Even our bit-beasts seemed to have formed a mutual friendship which I was sure would come in handy later on when it came to dominating my ex- team mates in the tournament. We were currently sitting in a taxi, along with Hilary, the Chief and Hiro, on our way to the opening of the world championships. In a way, today had been very painful. I always thought it would be me, Max, Rei and Kai sitting here, ready to take anyone down for the third time in a row. But now as I looked at Violet sitting opposite me, staring out the window, twiddling with her purple hair that was currently tied back in a braid, I knew I could have done a lot worse.

"Hey Violet?"

"Yeah?" she says, her eyes flicking upwards to look at me. Her eyes were always so wide and curious. She had told me the story of why they turned red, sort of. Normally, they were a beautiful shade of emerald but they lit up like balls of fire whenever she called upon her bit beast, Nercissa. They were connecting on a level that no one I knew could do. They had a combined soul. She hadn't gone into too much detail, just enough for me to get the picture of it but I still wondered what that exactly meant.

"I'm glad you're my partner." I smile and I'm very happy to see that her face lights up. She leans forward and holds her hand out. I grin and do the same. Yep, we even had our own hand shake. That's friendship right here folks.

VIOLET POV

I followed Tyson who confidently appeared to know exactly what he was doing. We were strolling along the corridor, heading to the stadium which I assumed was at the end of the corridor. I assumed this because a thunderous road was echoing from this direction. On the way in, we had passed hundreds of fans who had attempted to surround us- desperate for photos, signatures and a moment of the world champion's time. I was shocked to find I even had my own set of fans which was weird cause this was my first tournament and I figured no one would even have a clue who I was. One fan even thrust a coffee shop with my face on it at me to sign which freaked me out. Since when did I have merchandise?

I had to be a liar if I was going to say I wasn't a little bit nervous. Tyson knew the circuit; he knew the stadium dishes and the whole arena situation suited his style of blading to a T. If I crashed and burned on Live TV, in front of the whole world, I would never forgive myself. The only thing calming me down was frankly, my best friend who was beside me, smiling at me from the corner of his eye and my bit-beast who was glowing brightly in my palm, ready for the fight of our lives. As we entered the arena, a blinding spot light was cast upon us and I had to hold my hand up to see where we were. As I did, a blurry shape that resembled DJ Jazz Man appeared, introducing our arrival to a crowd that were starving for some beyblade action

"Here we are folks! The reigning champion, Tyson, ready to spin his blade into high gear, hoping to knock his ex- team mates out. Along with his new partner, Violet who is virtually unknown. Have to stay tuned to see how that one goes folks!"

The welcome cheer we received was exhilarating. My ears were ringing but I was so buzzing from the excitement of a real life tournament I couldn't care. I was so excited I failed to notice DJ Jazz Man introduce the White Tiger X Team and the PBA All Stars. I was however, very interested when DJ Jazz Man introduced a new team,-an all- girl team. As they arose from the platform, I noticed something odd. All the girls looked like a street urchins, grimy, sooty and beaten down. I then clicked on instantly when I noticed their leader who was standing centre stage. It was the girl from the roof top! She looked forward, her eyes lit up with such passion and determination and when DJ Jazz Man introduced her as "Alexandria", she cut him off and introduced herself as "Alex". I was very interested in hearing what this girl had to say.

"We may be new on the scene but we're equally as tough and determined as anyone who dares oppose us. Some may say we don't look like much but we have more power than you think. So watch out, because The Criminal Bladers are going to knock you out!"

Her whole attitude was very intimidating and for some reason, I knew when we fought them, I was going to battle her. I had to.

As the introduction continued, I was interested in the Barthes Battalion. There was something I didn't like about them. Or rather, about their shifty looking team coach.

F Dynasty were a bit much. All the colours and love for the attention made me a little sick if I was honest. Though, they were thought to be the most fearsome when it came to tag team battles so I had set my sights on not forgetting about them. All competition is competition after all.

I could see Tyson was shaking, his fists clenched and his teeth grinding together. I looked at him as I watched his eyes survey across the stadium, taking into account each of his traitorous EX best friends. Then, the lights dimmed and the final team emerged: the Blitzkrieg Boys. They seemed like very cool characters, very mysterious and quiet. Kai was also a sight to see, a sight that infuriated Tyson beyond believe. I took his hand in mine and he looked at me. I winked at him and he calmed a little. Seriously, that boy and his temper!

It was then, as DJ Jazz Man started to start the draw for the very first match that I started to let go of Tyson's hand and peered closely at another member of the Blitzkrieg Boys. One who had very familiar spiky red hair and surprisingly, brought a hot flush to my cheeks.

"Tala?" I mumbled, my head tilted to the side and my eyes unable to believe what I saw. Almost like he could sense my eyes, he looked in my direction, causing me to quickly duck behind Hiro in embarrassment. Hiro simply looked at me and shook his head, pushing me besides Tyson who I smiled widely at. "Better pay attention" I thought.

"…well folks, you hear it! Looks like we're kicking this tournament off in true champion style with BBA Revolution VS White Tiger X!"

Woah, here we go. Here we go.

TALA POV

Well, well, well. That's why she looked familiar.

She probably thinks I didn't see her but who couldn't. The girls bumbling attempt to look at me without me noticing was hardly anything other than obvious. She brought a smirk to my face which was unusual and I set my mind to ponder why later on. So she was Tyson's new partner then? It wasn't like Tyson's nature to accept help from a new comer, especially one who was girl. As sexist as that sounds, Tyson was always a bit of a pig. I wondered if maybe she was little bit more than his blading 'partner'. It wasn't my nature to be keeping my eye on random girls but when I saw her take Tyson's hand who looked like he was going to blow a fuse, something inside me clicked. I would get to the bottom of that later too.

Before I could ponder it, Kai who was getting such a look from Tyson turned on his heels and headed for the exit, eyes shut and his traditional white scarf sailing out behind him. Having no particular reason to stay, I nodded at Bryan and Spencer and we all headed out. As we walked down the corridor, silence between us all, running footsteps were heard pounding the floorboards.

"Hey, Kai!"

Bryan, Spencer and myself all turned round, our arms crossed to find a very red faced Tyson, ready to fight. Hmm, pathetic boy.

"What is it Tyson?" I ask, my eyes quickly locking onto a girl, sliding out onto the corridor, behind him. She looks left and right, a look of desperation on her face before catching site of the scene unfolding in front of her. I watch her every movement intensy as she moves closer, reaching out to offer a hand to Tyson who pulls away from her.

"Kai, I'm talking to you, you utter snake! Answer me!" he furiously shouts, his temper soaring higher with every word.

Kai, who as usual remains silent and starts to walk away. Tyson then runs forward, his fists baring. Unfortunately, I snap a finger and Bryan and Spencer block his way. He runs into them and bounces back, hitting the floor. I chuckle and turn away until I hear a sweet girls voice speak to me.

"What was that for?"

I face back to find the girl sinking down beside Tyson. His lip is bleeding and she offers him a tissue, a concerned expression floods her face. Her eyes flip upwards and for once, she looks equally as angry as Tyson. This amuses me. Her sweet angelic appearance doesn't seem to be equipped to support such an angry emotion.

"And why does that matter to you? Who even are you, girl?" I state.

"My names Violet and clearly, I'm the only friend Tyson has left!" she shouts, pointing at Tyson who she lifts to his feet. She boldly matches up to me and I notice she's about a head smaller than me. "Cute." Why did I think that? Stop it!

"What gives **him **and you all to treat anyone like the way you just did?" She spits at me, pointing at Kai who has disappeared from sight.

"You know nothing about any of this." I point out. What has she been here for what a week, a month?

"Oh shut up!" she dismisses, shaking her head angry. She walks back to Tyson and pulls him away, saying something I can't quite hear. As I turn away, dismissing it all, I decide the less I see of her the better. She's causing me some very weird thoughts. Weird thoughts I can't afford.

"Violet, nice name though…" Stop it!


	8. Chapter 8

As I walked away, I mentally noted myself to kick that guys butt later in the tournament. Hard. With a steel toed boot. Right up the ass!

Tyson was the one I was worrying about though. We had our very first match-the first of the entire tournament and Tyson couldn't even keep it together. He was shaking and jumping around like a jack in the box. If we had any chance of standing a chance against Rei and Lee, then he had to get his shit together. And fast.

We walked back to the arena which now was empty apart from BBA Revolution, White Tiger X and DJ Jazz Man who was declaring that it was time for the first match. The other teams were eagerly watching from the stands. I grabbed Tyson and dragged him over to Hiro and the Chief, hoping that they could talk some sense into the rage blinded teen.

"Hiro, got any words for advice?" I plead, my eyes darting back and forth between Tyson who was yet again sending daggers at Rei. I slap the back of his head and he turns round. Listen up boy.

"Well, Rei and Lee are very tough opponents, DO NOT underestimate them," he stresses, arms folded and glaring at his little brother. "We better decide who is taking on who, Kenny what do you…"

"Rei's mine!" Tyson sharply says, turning his full body across to see Rei who was narrowing his eyes in return. I wondered what was going through Rei's mind at this precious moment.

"Well, Tyson maybe we should hear what Kenny has to say, you are a little shaken up and I'm sure if you let me take Rei on…"

"No way!" he barks at me and I back off. Fighting with Tyson when he's this wound up never accomplishes anything.

DJ Jazz Man interrupts us by declaring "Will the first opponent please set up to the dish and we can get this ball truly rolling!"

Tyson looks at me to which I look to Hiro for something that could talk Tyson out of being a hot headed idiot. Hiro just shrugs and I sigh, whipping my shooter out and start marching to the dish, my elongated purple braid flying out behind me. Hearing my name being chanted and several individual comments such as "we love you Violet!" and "you are so hot Violet" was very overwhelmed but I focused my mind on the task ahead. I bounced up the steps and awaited Lee to follow, my hand on my hip impatiently.

"White Tiger X?"

Watching the small Asian team look at each other and nod, I start to ponder what extent Lee's strength is at. I know Tyson had defeated him several times and personally, I ranked myself just above him. Tyson could be so much stronger if he focused his anger and temper and channelled it into Dragoon. It scared me how strong he could actually be. I was lost in my focus of taking down Lee, I failed to notice the mess of black hair tied back in a ponytail who was strutting up the stairs. I failed to notice the intake of sharp breaths and silence that circled the stadium as I started to load my shooter, running my hand along the cold golden string on my bow. I only noticed when I flicked my eyes up, to aim for the stadium and I came across golden cat eyes that were staring right back at me.

"Rei?" I say, mouth dropping and my shooter falling down my side. He simply didn't repond but instead raised his own shooter, a look so furious and determined I was slightly scared. Slightly being the correct word, Violet Thompson feared no-one.

"Alright then!" I accept, pulling the string back and stepped back, my stance secure and ready to fire my beyblade with all the force and power I had in my body. It was just as DJ Jazz Man who going to announce the stadium when a blue haired blur of anger came bounding up and pushed me to the side and started waving a fist and finger at Rei. Sigh.

"What the hell do you think your doing Rei! Not have the guts to take me on? Scared you'll lose, you slimeball!" Tyson howls and for the first time I've ever wished I never knew Tyson. He was acting like a complete maniac on World Wide Live TV!

"Tyson, calm down." I say, stretching my arm out to try and turn him away but he simply shoves my arm back, rather forcefully.

"Well Rei, you going to accept that you're a coward, once and for all!"

"I have no words to say to you Tyson." Rei calmly and very matter- of -fact states, his eyes closed tightly shut. I did have to accept that I admired his posture and calm and collected attitude. It wasn't easy to keep that especially when you have a crazed teenager roaring and ranting at you .

"No words! Rei, you have to be the most dirty, traitorous, disgusting…!"

"Except!" Rei says, his golden eyes snapping open and lips curling downwards in an angry frown. "I WILL battle you Tyson but today, I'm battling you're partner so step down!" His voice is very demanding, putting emphasise on the step down part and I get shivers from the force in his voice. His demeanour is astounding.

"Look like we have a bit of a situation going on here folks, I sense some tension between Tyson and his ex team-mate Rei!" DJ Jazz Man observes, his hands waving around, boasting the feelings and energies of the crowd.

"Well later is NOT good enough Rei!" Tyson interrupts, swinging out his own shooter and attaching Dragoon forcefully. My eyes are flooded with worry. What the hell is he doing?

"You will fight me here, now, no IF ands and buts! I can take you any day of the week and you know it! You're a disgusting coward and cowards deserve to be put in their place." Tyson rants, his breathing so hitched that his chest rises and falls ten times faster than normal.

"In fact, I can take you AND Lee on, single handed! I can beat the crap out of both of you! Bring it!"

I put a hand to my mouth in shock as the crowd erupts into a frenzy of emotion, the White Tiger fans yelling at Tyson whilst the majority who are in support of the world champion, egging him on.

"Tyson, you can't be serious…" I begin while Lee races up and joins his team-mate.

"No one disrespects the White Tigers like that!" he defends, his own beyblade ready for launch.

"Let's take him down Rei!"

"Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this is THEE most idiotic decision EVER?!" I scream at the team behind me, my arms floundering around my body in an attempt to make my point. Yet again, Hiro shrugs at me while Kenny simply looks dumb funded. Hilary barely looks interested but she does look interested in the rear-end of Tyson I notice. I roll my eyes. Slut.

"Well, Rei! What do you say, for old times sake?" Tyson growls, his hands twitching to launch.

"Tyson, you could have walked away and you COULD have had a chance. But now you go and disrespect my team-mates and that I can-not allow." Rei says and steps in position. I freak out as these professional bladers all stand, narrowed eyes, gritted teeth and bitten down on their lips, ready to rip each other to shreds.

"Hey, what do you know everyone! Looks like Tyson, the world champion is going take on White Tiger X single handily. Well I never…"

"I'm in!"

The three bladers all turn to look at me who has pulled back her shooter and is all set to fire.

"Violet, step away!"

"Hell no Tyson! I'm sick and tired of you thinking you can take on the whole world, single handley. I know you have history with Rei but this is why it's called a "Tag Team" championships. Besides, this is MY match after all."

"Fine." He accepts and I can sense something is off between us and I start to feel very concerned. I get the feeling Tyson now thinks he's taking on three bladers and doesn't even consider me as an ally. I hope I can get through that thick skull of his or else, we are toast!

Before I knew it, we were all launching our beyblades, my heart pumping faster than it ever has. My beyblade weaves in and out of the White Tigers, being cautious of Tyson who is behaving rather out of character, going straight for Rei's Drigger, forgetting all about Lee's powerful gallelion waiting to pounce. His frustration increases as Rei continues to dodge him yet again striking a dagger through their friendship in the eyes of Tyson by refusing to properly face him. I fear Rei knows that Tyson can be his own worst enemy sometimes and his own temper can be his downfall.

"Tyson, you have to chill!" I yell at him as Nercissa yet again effortlessly dodges an attack from Gallelion.

"Stay out of my way Violet! This is between me and Rei!" Tyson rudely shouts at me and to be honest, I'm a little hurt. Fine, if Tyson doesn't want my help, I'm going to take them both down myself and show Tyson that emotion fueled anger doesn't win anything. I turn back to the dish, I can feel my eyes start to transform, the fire burning to be released.

"Hey Rei, somethings freaky is happening with her eyes!" Lee stutters as Rei and Lee circle around the dish, avoiding Tyson who is desperately trying to smash into them at every opportunity. Rei looks at me, trying to think what it could be. Tyson sees his chance and calls Dragoon to go on the attack.

"No, Rei!" Lee screams, jumping in front of the transfixed blader and taking the full force of Dragoon's attack. I'm impressed by the extent of team work these two seem to have. I know Tyson and I have that, he's just a little side tracked by the jaws of betrayal.

My eyes start to fade out completely of my emerald green, until my eyes are glowing red and I know the power of Nercissa is ready to be unleashed. I smirk as my hands start to glow as well, a golden mist swirling around my feet. I smile, ready to show Tyson how it's really done and put my hands over my chest and pull them away swiftly. My blade spins into high gear, the metal glowing a mixture of red and gold. The power of Nercissa allows it to spin across the stadium, faster than any beyblade metal ring could ever take it. It swims in and out of each incoming blade until finally I clench my fist and order an attack. My blade flies down the stadium, chasing on the tail of both White Tigers, catching them and knocking them back. They slam back into Nercissa, like I anticipated. Their blade begins to slow, much to their surprise.

"Hey, whats happening with our blades!" Lee yells in confusion, looking to his team-mate for the answer.

"I have an idea. See that golden glow coming from her blade?" Rei nods at me. The glow which with hit seems to have permanetely attached itself to their blades with every slam.

"I have a hunch that it slows down the power and speed of our blades. And with heavy hit we direct at her, they slow down even more."

"So are you saying we can't touch her or else our blades may slow down all together?"

"Very observant Rei." I say, my voice much lighter and enchanting than usual. I can feel the confused stares of thousands of fans as they watch the match. Combining your soul with your bit-beast has definitely advantaged me in ways no one will ever know. I turn my eyes to Tyson who equally seems as freaked out as the others.

"Listen, Tyson. Don't be put off my any of this. Go for it and we'll take them down as easy as 1, 2, 3. Got it?" I say, my voice stern and commanding.

I turn back to the dish and really go for it, my blade dashing around the stadium. I set my sights on Rei who I can feel has set his sights on avoiding my glow. I swirl and dive around, the high speed beyblades all crashing into one another, trying to knock each out.

"Well, folks this match is turning into one heck of a beybattle royale! But who will be the first one knocked out?"

Getting impatient by all this, Nercissa heads towards the edge of the dish and I order her to fly up it and into the sky of the stadium. Everyone looks up in amaze as she tumbles, her glow growing with power and strength as I target her towards the White Tigers. I have it all wrapped up, it's so simple. That is until Tyson and his hot wheeling ideas spots an opening to blantely attack Rei. Rei has purposely left himself open, allowing Tyson to call upon Dragoon and her galaxy Typhoon.

"Tyson, no! Go back!" I yell as my blade hurtles through the air, towards the three blades all gathered round each other with no chance of stopping. I know perfectly well what's going to happen.

"Now Lee!" Rei screams as his blade and Lee yank away from each in opposite directions, destroying my target and giving me one and one thing only to attack. Dragoon. Nercissa smashes into Dragoon, a hit so hard that beyblade chips go firing around the stadium causing all of us to throw our hands to our faces to avoid being hit in the eye. Dragoon hits the dishes and loses balance, bouncing around like a loose cannon. Nercissa is sent spiralling around in a circle, her own speed and power decreasing as I feel my body drain from the last attack. Eventually, she stops all together, lying in a pathetic corner of the stadium as Dragoon is sent sky high, landing at Tyson's feet to his horror. I drop to my knees, overwhelmed at the sheer defeat and my eyes return to their original colour immediately, my shimmering golden glow disappearing. As I stare at the ground, in utter disgust as the crowd are unable to control themselves from the shock and surprise of seeing the so-called odds on favourites being utterly eradicated by the White Tigers. My eyes are wide and I feel the horrible feeling of defeat fill my stomach, making me want to feriously vomit. I look up and catch Rei's golden eyes. He almost looks at me in pity which makes me feel even worse. A girl with bubblegum pink hair runs up and throws her arms round his neck, kissing his cheek with love and admiration. He turns his back and walks away, greeted by the rest of his triumphant team. I then remember I have a team-mate who is standing like an imbecile, staring at his blade and my disgust is replaced by a boiling fury of anger.

"I can't believe this is happening..."he begins and for the first time ever, I hate him. I truly hate him.

I pull myself to my feet and walk towards him. His eyes look up at me, expecting a hug or some sign of sympathy. This infuriates me even more. It is all his fault. We could have won this so badly if he hadn't intervened in the first place. Clearly Rei was no match for me and Nericssa and would have gone down harder than a sack of potatoes but no, the big shot champion had to intervene and call on this stupid battle royale. My stomach was absolutely sick with anger, embarrassment and unworthiness. My first tournament and my partner had made me look like a absolute ameterur in front of the world. My nightmares were coming true.

Without thinking as this bumbling teen looks at Dragoon in his palm, my hand swings up and strikes him across the face. The sound of hitting him hard across the face echoes across the whole stadium. The stadium is silenced and even the White Tiger's who were half way out of the stadium, pause and turn round in shock. Tyson looks at me, holding the side of his face which is red and sure as hell, will be stinging. I narrow my eyes and turn on my heels, feeling disgusted with myself and everything I had worked for. Blading was my life and I owed more to Nercissa. She had given me everything, even a chance at life and I had let her down. The tears were stinging my eyes as I fled the stadium, my team mates watching as I disappeared from view. Man, this hurts. This freaking hurts. Damn you Tyson.

Dealing with defeat was hard enough but dealing with a defeat that was so cruel and so unnecessary, was tearing my insides apart. It was so painful trying to restrain myself from going right back to that stadium and literally murdering Tyson. I sat by a pond, hidden in the shadows on the outskirts of central park and skipped a stone. I watched the ripples as they trembled across the smothe water and felt another pang of pain ripple through me. I knew I had to get my rage from defeat under control. Any more violent attacks and it would be me who was being murdered. By a crowd of loving Tyson fan girls. I knew deep down, the rage wasn't entirely my fault. Before I met Nercissa, I wasn't affected by it. Though, it still wasn't often, I wasn't prone to attacking people like that at all. The rage stemed from the whole combined soul thing. When Nercissa was released from the cave wall, she knew she had found the person who was destined to control her wonderous power. However, that person was also halfway to her grave. Like I said, my mind had completely shut down and unfortunately, would never open again. So Nercissa used her own abilities and fortunately, that involved in bringing me back to life at the cost of half her spirit inhibiting my body in order to do so. Since that day, I found out that I could do many irregular things that most humans could not. Like I could swim underwater without having to come up for air. My strength was unbelievable and when blading, I would glow and my eyes would light up. They were all wonderful things but it came at a price. As well as have her abilities, I also inherited half of her own personality. For example, the rage comes from the fact that as bit-beast, she's quite evil. Her own agenda and personality is very violent and concerned with luring her opponents into a false frenzy before ripping them apart. She also has an incurable need for victory and feels immense physical pain when she doesn't win which sucks because I partly feel it and it's no little blip, it's serious immense, spirit crushing pain. Fortunately, my own personality and will seems to cool her need for evil a little bit which is why I can see why destiny brought us together. We are the perfect mix of evil and , being evil didn't quash the fact she was always immensely loyal and protective to me and I loved her for it. So yeah, evil doesn't always mean what you think it does.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bush behind me and I stand up, my body tense and ready for if anyone were to come at me. The bush parts and out steps…


	9. Chapter 9

… a very leafy covered Tala.

He steps out, casually brushing off the leafs from his jacket before digging his hands deep into his trouser pockets and looking at me with raised eyebrows and a small smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, his head cocked to the side awaiting a response from me. Clearly not in the mood to deal with anything this guy has to say, I spin on my heels and start to march away, trying to put as much distance between myself and this annoying red haired boy as possible. Unfortunately, he seems to have other things in mind as he quickly falls in time with my footsteps. He doesn't say anything at first which is perhaps more annoying that what I could imagine he could say. The silence pains me and eventually, I can't stand it and turn to him and scream "what do you want from me?" throwing my hands up in the air, shaking from annoyance.

Tala backs off a little, chuckling to himself as he effortlessly runs a hand through the thick mess of spiky red hair. I can't help but notice the cute way his lips curve upwards, the way his tongue licks his lower lip but I dismiss it instantly, dropping my hands to my hips and narrowing my eyes as my patience grows thin.

"Well?" I demand, puffing out my cheek to the left as I watch his eyes light up. He's obviously getting a good kick out of this.

"You looked a little…should we say stressed?" his charismatically states, smiling smugly.

"Stressed…hmm you think." I say sarcastically. "Now if you excuse me, I have something important to attend to."

"Like what, moping around about your defeat? Because you know that won't change anything right?" he cockily says, his magnetic gaze flickering with enjoyment and I feel my temper soar. Who is he to lecture me?

"Listen." I say, gritting my teeth, holding my hand up. "I have no intention on standing around, listening to the likes of you tell me what I can't and can- not do. So maybe you should just run along, I'm sure the rest of your team are just DYING for you to run back to them and tell them what to do. Am I right?" I bop my head as he pursues his lips, momentarily being silenced. I smirk and turn away, feeling very smug and pleased with myself.

I feel pressure grip around my arm and look down to see he's locked his hand around my arm, holding me in place. I pull away forcefully several times, yanking my arm in frustration but he stands impressively strong, his eyes locked entirely on me, like a beacon drawing me in towards him. I fail to notice our faces are getting noticeably closer, our lips parting slightly, the grip on my arm getting looser and winding down my arm to rest on my waist. I'm so entranced by his mysterious eyes that I feel something growl in the pit of my stomach, something urged me to move closer to this mysterious wolf. My foot leans forward and by lifting my heel and balancing on my toes to lean in closer, my foot presses down, coincidentally on a very rounded pebble and I suddenly lose my balance as it rolls and I fall forward, falling into Tala's arms, my face pressed against his muscular chest, my legs weak. My hands fly forward, reaching out to grab onto the nearest thing for balance which happens to be Tala's very firm and very masculine shoulders. My body presses against him and my cheeks flush as I unintentionally feel the outline of his sculptured physique, in particular his lower abdominal region. Caught off guard, I try to re adjust myself and pull away, only to be caught in a hypnotising trance when his head turns in to the side, his cheek brushing against mine. I gasp, a sweet warmth radiating from him that while I will always deny, sends delightful shivers down my spine. We stand, cheek to cheek, my heart beating rapidly in my chest, desperate to pop out and be heard. We jump apart as there is another rustling in the bushes behind us. I focus in on the bush, to see what it is this time and as a blue haired boy appears, holding his arms up in surrender, I mentally tell myself I need to re-consider the meaning of what a discreet location is. Cause clearly everyone and their grandma knows all about this place!

"Tyson?"

"Look, Violet…" he begins, keeping his hands above his hand. I can tell he's uncertain whether to come closer to me or risk being struck again. Having calmed down considerably (on the contrast, I'm feeling rather hot under the collar now) I decide to at least hear him out before storming off which is something I seem to be doing a lot to today. I look round to say to Tala I'll be right back after I talk to Tyson but find he's suddenly vanished into thin air, leaving my mind reeling with confusion.

"Yes Tyson?" I say, turning back, scratching my head .

"I'm sorry about what went down back there." He says, staring at the ground, scuffling his feet. I feel sympathy start to replace any anger I have for the boy as Tyson stands in front of me, clearly battling with a fury of emotions.

"I accept your apology Tyson" I start to say as he looks up, a cheerful grin bursting across his face.

"But! Things have to change!" I sternly say, raising a finger. His face drops and he nods his finger.

"You can't go in, guns blazing, prepared to take anyone down without even thinking or considering me. I'm your tag team partner and we need to work together or else none of us stand a chance. Just look at today! I NEVER want to have to re-live that nightmare and I swear if you ever let me down like today, I will kill you. And I'm deadly serious, Ty."

"Violet, you have to understand I have a score to settle. Those guys…"

"I know Tyson. I know, they betrayed you, yeah. I'm going to tell you once and I want you to listen closely: don't let your anger destroy you. You keep this up and you'll play right into their hands and guess what, you'll no longer be world champ. You'll be nothing but a little boy who can't put his beyblade where his mouth is."

There's a small silence between us as Tyson stares at the ground and I stare at him.

"You have to understand, I'm on your side." I softly say, smiling sweetly at the very torn teen.

"Don't forget that I'm here to help you and you'll help me. We're partners. But we're more than that…aren't we Ty?"

I step forward and lean forward, swinging my head round so I see his eyes cast at the ground. I cup a hand under his chin and push it up into the light. He looks at me. He was likely expecting me to throw a few punches and then we'd be fine. I'm much more of a words girl than physical.

" I almost feel like you're the only friend I have right now." He quietly says, looking at me with need and love, making my heart call out for him.

"Awwww Ty." I say, cutely, immediately embracing him in my arms. He instantly puts his arms around my waist and hugs me tightly. Nothing like getting a compassionate hug from your best friend. I close my eyes and melt into the hug.

TALA POV

Tyson always did have the habit of showing up at the worst possible times.

I'm sitting with my back against this large oak tree on a high up branch, peering down at Tyson and Violet who out of nowhere appear to be embraced in each other arms.

I'm now 100% convinced that this new ultra- sensitive act Tyson has going on these days can't be for real. Sure, he was always an emotional kid but if I'm being perfectly honest, even I would be willing to shed a few tears and act like such a wimp all day long if it meant I'd be cared for by a girl who looks like Violet. Even though, I try to not notice these things, this girl has been my main concern ever since I ran into her in the coffee shop.

I don't know what it is but I can't get her out of my head. That's partly the reason why I followed her. I saw her flee the stadium after the pitiful beyblade match against White Tiger X and before I could talk myself out of it, I was following behind her, keeping a close distance so not to be spotted. I know that sounds like I'm going stalker but Tala Valkov never chases girls like her. It's always the other way round. Which is another reason I don't understand why I'm wasting my time right now when frankly, I could have any beautiful girl in the world, anytime anywhere. Why this morning when I left the hotel room, I was ambushed by a crowd of very prominously dressed girls, all starry eyed and begging for a moment of my time. The amount of times I've gone for a shower in the locker room and came out, with nothing but a towel wrapped round my waist to find a swarm of women, ready to pounce on me is crazy. So why do I think about Violet so much?

"Hey Tyson, how did you find me anyhow?" I overhear Violet ask Tyson and I listen into their conversation. I can see Violet still looks confused as to where I've disappeared to and for some unknown reason, her concern for my whereabouts brings a smile to my face.

"Well, I ran after you when you left the stadium and to be honest, I got a little lost. That's when I was sure I saw Tala and I going to ask him directions but then he ran off so I followed his footsteps and instead of finding him, I found you. Weird huh?"

"Yeah, weird…" I hear Violet nervously say, a small laugh at the end of her sentence and from my position, I spot a light blush highlight across her pale cheeks. This gives me a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach which I can't explain and part of me never wants to know why.

"Shall we head back?" Tyson says to her and Violet nods. As she and Tyson walk away, I notice Tyson swings an arm around her shoulders and smiles widely at her to which she links her fingers with his and smiles back. I have the greatest desire to punch Tyson in the face right now. As they disappear through the trees, I sit back against the bark of the tree and breathe out, running my hands across my face and sighing into my hands.

"Bet you wish Tyson hadn't have showed up, eh Tala?"

My hands drop from my face and who do I see, but the sourpuss himself, smirking all knowingly at me from across the tree on the other branch. He's biting into an apple, his eyebrow raised at me, one arm on his knee which is raised up and the other dangling from the branch.

"Kai, what are you doing here?" I demand, sitting up and looking at my partner who effortlessly stands up, drops the apple and swings onto my branch, propping himself up by his knees next to me.

"Better question: what are you doing here?" he smirks at me.

It is a good question. I don't even have an answer for him. So instead of wasting time, playing mind games with the King of Mystery himself, I roll my eyes and jump from the branch, landing on the ground, my hands pushing me back into a standing position. As I start to walk away, Kai does the same, landing just in front me, blocking my path. My efforts to run away from his questions clearly amuse him.

"Kai, we don't have the time to stand around chit chatting."

"Yet you have time to stand around talking to some girl, rather closely I might add?" he says, folding his arms. It appears Kai's been surveying us. I wonder for how long, you never quite know just when Kai's going to appear. Alike myself, he comes and go's as he chooses and he likes it that way. It suits his way of life, as prior to now, I thought the same for myself. Now I doubt everything.

"I have no idea what you mean." I state, playing unaware to what he's talking about.

"You can try to fool me Tala, but you can't fool yourself." He wisely says as he starts to walk away.

"Oh and one more thing: I wouldn't worry about Tyson. Not when it comes to her anyway. The fool may have a thing for her, I have no idea but it's obvious all he ever will be is her partner and friend. Now what you do with your own time is your own business and keep it yourself but I'm warning you, we're winning this tournament whether you and your *cough* hormones like it or not."

Kai can read me like a book. All those years of living together have certainly made him be able to tell whenever I'm sad, angry, frustrated and dare I say, turned on? The effect of having Violet's petite and slender body tightly pressed against me still appears to be present. As Kai walks away, I stare into the distance, across the pond, feeling the hot rush gradually flow out of my body. I know where my priorities lie. I'm Tala, the greatest Russain beyblader there is and soon to be part of the world champion team yet again. I stop at nothing when it comes to winning. I narrow my eyes and flick my red bangs out of my face. I've decided. No girl will ever stop me from achieving my goal to be the best. No matter how cute they are. Somehow I still think, it won't be that easy to forget about Violet. I sigh. Maybe taking Wolborg out for a spin will clear my mind…


	10. Chapter 10

Despite our defeat, the team's spirit for the rest of the US section of the tournament was sky high. Even Hilary's swooning over Tyson couldn't bring me down. Tyson and I were practicing every day, we were perfectly in synch. I couldn't be happier.

That is, apart from the niggling feeling at the back of my mind that kept telling me that Tala was avoiding me. It was almost like I didn't exist to him. And for some reason, that pissed me off beyond believe.

But apart from that, everything was great. We were currently waiting to board our plane to Spain, one of my all- time favourite countries. I was incredibly excited to be returning to Madrid and was happily smiling away, even as Daichi and Tyson continued to bicker with each other. I was in such a happy daydream that I failed to notice a girl in shabby clothing who was sneaking towards, snaking her way through the throng of people standing around in the busy airport. I was blissfully unaware as she snooped in towards me, her hand extended shyly, dangerously close to Nercissa who was comfortably placed in my blade pouch, hanging on my hips and before I knew it, I felt my hip become noticeably lighter.

"Odd." I thought, as my hand reached for my blade, only to find Nercissa was missing!

"Nercissa!" I screamed, causing Daichi who was ready to jump onto Tyson from a seat to fall flat to the floor as Tyson moved to my side to check up on me.

"What is it Violet?" Tyson asks as I jumble through and around my belt pockets, feeling my energy begin to drain from my body. This was not good.

"Nercissa! She's gone!" I yell, feeling my eyes brim with tears as I search around my feet, hoping that she had just fallen out onto the floor. No such luck, she was nowhere to be found.

"She can't be gone!" Tyson says, confused and equally as panicked as I was. I could feel my head begin to get lighter and my body begin to feel extremely heavy, like I was falling in some deep sleep. If Nercissa wasn't returned to me, who knows what could happen to me!

Unfortunately, as we started to extend our search, an announcement was made that our flight to Madrid was going to begin boarding. My heart began to pound and I felt the tears of panic and fear flow from my eyes. My entire life was on the line. Literally.

As the other teams passed us heading for the terminal, I suddenly help unable to even stand up. I collapsed to the floor and felt my eyelids begin to close, the airport becoming fuzzy and blurred.

"Violet!" Tyson yells, grabbing my shoulders and starting to shake me, each shake getting more violent as eventually my eyelids closed and I fell into complete darkness.

TYSON POV

"VIOLET!" I scream, absolutely full with worry about my partner and best friend who is currently keeled over on the airport floor. My breathing is quickened as Hiro, upset with worry checks her for a pulse and I search his face. His face is dark with fear as he tells us her pulse is there but is so faint and fading fast.

"What's wrong with her?" the chief asks worryingly as Daichi and myself, help to lift her from the floor and lay her out across a few seats. I sit down, placing her head on my lap, feeling my eyes fill with tears as I run a hand over her forehead. Her face is peaceful and if I didn't know better, would say she was sleeping.

"I have no clue you guys but I'm going to run and alert the airport officials. Maybe we can delay the flight and get a medical official to check her out." Hiro says reassuringly and breaks into a run, pushing the White Tiger X and PBA All Starz to the side as he barges to the front and begins to explain the situation. I notice the teams look over to us who seem to be the centre of attention but I couldn't care. I only care about ensuring Violet is okay.

Daichi foolishly puts his ear to her stomach and says "I can't hear anything."

I swat him away, angrily and stand up, carefully laying her head down on the seat, her long hair flowing over the seats and touching the floor. I put a hand on her face which is now horrifically stone cold and I feel like I'm going to vomit. With tears now flowing from my eyes, I lower my ear to my chest and listen, praying for the sound of a heartbeat. Several minutes pass and I let out a painful whimper as I fear the worst. However, I hear a small and very faint, heartbeat and I feel a flutter of hope.

"I hear her heart." I happily but quietly say to Hilary and Kenny who are standing next to Daichi, all with looks of fear and worry slapped across their faces. Kenny is quivering, his laptop jiggling around in his trembling little arms.

It is then at that moment, Hiro comes sprinting over, quickly followed by a team of airport officials, each carrying bags of medical drugs and equipment. I jump back from her as they crowd around her, feeling her wrists and chest, jabbing needles and air masks onto her to try and determine what is wrong and how they can help. I am so beside myself with worry that I even accept Hilary's attempts to get close to me as she takes my hand in her horribly long hands, equipped with long fake nails. She strokes my hand, her eyes gazing up at me adoringly but I have only sight that I want to see right now. Violet's smiling face, looking up at me and telling me everything is going to be okay.

I am soon joined by Max and Rei who walk to my side, followed in tow by their teams.

"Tyson, what's wrong with Violet?" Rei asks his voice quiet and weak as even he can't tell how severe the situation is.

"We don't know." I meekly reply as Mariah gasps as they take a blood sample from her wrist. I shut my eyes tightly, never in a million years imagining that this could happen to anyone I cared about.

TALA POV

The crowd a-waiting to board the plane to Madrid starts to disperse as they announce an emergency has occurred and all the officials sprint in the direction towards the back of the queue. Crossing my arms, I turn around, sighing and wondering what could be the hold up.

"Oh my god!" Spencer exclaims. He's about a foot taller than all of us and can see over most crowds. I guess something serious most have happened, a bomb scare or something. We make our way through the crowd who are gasping and covering their children's eyes, my curiosity increasing. I spot the figures of the White Tiger X team and the PBA All Staz but I can't see who or what they are all gathered around. However, I can see that Mariah is crying painfully into her brother Lee's shoulder and Hilary who is attached to the side of Tyson, her head latched onto the space between his head and shoulder, wailing. Wondering why Tyson would ever allow that little Barbie doll anywhere near him when Violet is around, I walk closer, the PBA All Starz parting to make room for me in the circle of what looks like, mourners. Ignoring all my thoughts about Violet over the course of the tournament has not been easy. Especially when it felt like she could tell I was ignoring her and kept looking at me, those enchanting eyes baring deep into my skull as she watched my every move. It made me glow with pride that I was annoying her by making her think I was ignoring her and I felt great knowing that I was affecting her so. Even then, I banished all thoughts of her and concentrated on blading. However, there are only so many thoughts you can banish from a teenage boys heads. Especially ones in your dreams.

I look at Tyson who I'm shocked to see is in bits. His lip is trembling uncontrollably and his face is flooded with tears. His fists are clenched and his legs are shaking violently. Curious, I crane my neck to see what the officials are all crowded around. They were busy but eventually, they stop, all looking at each with a look of defeat and sadness. They stand and I hear one of them radio for a stretcher and an ambulance. What the hell is happening?

"I'm sorry." One of them says, locking eyes dead on with Tyson. "I'm afraid there is nothing we can do." Everyone gasps as Tyson falls to the floor and begins pounding it with his fists, shouting that it isn't fair. All his friends fall around him, some of them crying and others biting their lip with shock and sadness, consoling him and each other. As everyone focuses on Tyson, the crowd around the middle thaws and I spot a very familiar body, lying lifelessly across the chairs. My heart catches in my chest as I recognise the beautiful strands of purple hair that are attached to a beautiful face that is peacefully still.

"Violet." I mumble, causing Tyson to erupt into mountains of tears at the mention of her name. No, she's dead? No, no, what the, no this can't be happening! When did that happen? I start to walk towards the almost, sleeping girl as everyone is distracted with a distraught Tyson but stop as I feel a presence, an aura that does not fit with the mourning crowd of beybladers.

I look around, eventually drawing my attention to the ceiling and I'm confused to see a girl who is crawling along the ceiling. I recognise her immediately as Alex from the Criminal Bladers. I had faced her in the US tournament and beaten her, making sure to beat her good too as I noticed Violet who was watching from the crowd. She crawled around the ceiling like a spider, winding her way in the direction towards Violet and I wondered how she was able to move so quickly and with such agility.

She stopped, hovering over Violet and I saw her dig into her pockets. Even from my distance, I notice she pulls our Violet's blade. I have the good mind to yell out but as quick as a flash, she stretches her long body down and drops the blade which perfectly lands in Violet's palm which is lifelessly draped across her chest. She disappears and I return to walking towards Violet. I kneel down beside her and I watch her stone cold face, never moving or breathing. She's really dead. I sneak a glance at everyone is being ushered away from the sleeping body, no-one yet noticing I had slipped through the gap. I gaze upon the girl and sigh, moving her hair from her stunning face. Even in death, she's still shamefully enchanting and I finally admit to myself that I have feelings for her. Not any good it is now.

I lean forward and give her a small peak on her lips, a kiss goodbye. A kiss that never would be. However, as I open my eyes, I come face to face with shocked emerald green eyes, eyes ready to pop out her eye sockets with fright. Eyes full with life. We both start to scream, myself jumping back. She's alive?

VIOLET POV

The darkness was surprisingly comforting. When I was swallowed whole by the darkness, for once in my entire life I felt at peace. No longer was there any pain or conflict inside myself. I was finally at rest. However, suddenly there was a blinding light and I felt my body begin to flood with the familiar power and at times, overwhelming presence of Nercissa. My restless spirit suddenly came back to life and I felt my consciously drift back into my body. I awoke to the world, my eyelids fluttering open slowly and I rolled my shoulders, stopping in my tracks as I saw the sight that was in front of me. And attached to my lips.

Tala was leaning over, his eyelids shut and my cheeks burst in flames as I felt his soft lips on top of mine. My heart was jumping around inside my chest, hardly able to believe this was happening. Maybe I was dreaming?

I highly doubt it as Tala's own eyes opened and his eyes locked onto mine. My eyes were wide with shock and I suddenly felt the urge to scream, which coincidentally seemed to be what he wanted as-well as we both let out a high pitched cry at the same time, attracting the attention of everyone around us.

He jumped back from me and I pulled myself up into a sitting position to try and get an explanation out of him as to why he had lip locked with me, only to be knocked to the floor as a messy blue blur jumped on top of me.

"Tyson! Get off of me!" I yell as he sits on my chest, his arms wrapped around my neck, hugging the life out of me.

"Violet! I thought I had lost you!" he sobs, crying uncontrollably. Extremely confused by Tyson's distraught appearance, I blink in confusion as the other teams and members of the public gather round us. I suddenly feel aware that Tyson is clinging to my body and feel a teeny bit embarrassed.

"Alright, Tyson. You can let go now." I say, shoving the blue haired teen off me and re-adjusting myself. I go to help myself to my feet but quickly find for some reason, my legs were incredibly weak and unable to support my body. I go tumbling back down to the floor but a million hands reach out and grab my arms and pull me to my feet.

"Thanks, you guys." I smile awkwardly. It's only as I'm supported I notice that the very people who are helping me are Tyson and his ex-team-mates, Rei and Max.

"This is odd." I ponder. "Doesn't Tyson hate these guys?"

Before I have time to wonder any further, the crowd parts as Hiro comes towards me with a wheelchair. He smiles at me and pats the seat with a taunting twinkle in his eyes. Yeah right, like me, the future world champion tag team champion is going to sit and be pushed around in a wheel chair.

"Look guys, I don't need a wheelchair. I'm fine…" I begin, peeling Rei, Tyson and Max's hands from my arms and stepping forward, only to have them latch back onto me as I go hurtling towards the floor. I smile at them embarrassing and they smile back, chuckling. As they help me onto the wheelchair, I'm suddenly hit with a feeling of happiness as I see Max and Rei look at Tyson who looks back at them and smiles, his face genuinely glad to have them around. It's like their friends again. Did I have to die for that to happen?

I'm momentarily distracted from my sort- of kiss with Tala who seems to have slipped away into the crowd and started to head towards the plane which is now finally boarding.

"Look guys. I'm really sorry about that…" I say as I fiddle with Nercissa in my palm. I still don't even know where she went to and how she got back. All I know is that I'm not going to let it happen again.

"It's okay Violet." Tyson says, leaning down to my height and looking at me directly in the eye. I feel very happy to have such a caring friend around and I slip my arms round his neck. He chokes back a sob and whispers in my ear "but please, Vi! Don't do that again."

"Guys, we better start boarding." Hiro says, spinning me around on the wheelchair and we start walking through the crowd who start to part. As we walk through the crowd, everyone starts to clap which causes me to sink into my chair with embarrassment. We walk past the White Tiger X team who look at me and smile, Mariah giving me a big bear hug. The PBA All Starz give me the thumbs up with the exception of Max who fist pumps me. Everyone seems genuinely happy that I'm alive, to the exception of a group of shabby looking girls who sit on their suitcases, glaring at me. The Criminal Bladers. I catch sight of their leader, Alex who is weirdly pulling out strands of her own hair and flicking it away, a bored expression written across her face. Her eyes lock with mine and she stares, almost angrily until eventually I look away, feeling an eerie and concerned chill run up my spine. Something about that girl doesn't quite fit right. I quickly forget about everything as we walk through the gates. Tyson and Daichi break into a run followed by Hilary and a very slow Kenny, towards the plane and I prop my elbow up, sighing heavily at my lack of movement. Hiro laughs and pats my head and says "it's okay kiddo. You still have me."

"Great!" I sarcastically respond and we both burst into laughter.

Several hours later, after a very boring flight, the plane bumpily touches down in Madrid and despite being confined to a wheelchair; the sunny country brings an instant smile to my face. As Hiro helps me from my seat, into my wheelchair which while I was sleeping has been "ever-so creatively re-designed" by the other teams and Tyson. From the sides hang ripped pieces of clothing, such as Rei's sleeve which has been doodled over with smiley faces and love hearts. (Very Mariah.)

Pieces of paper have been glued to the side with "great well soon!" and Michael even reached over and patted his hat onto my head, saying it's mine and he's got like a million anyway. Even the Blitzkreig Boys even sounded concerned about me. Well, Bryan and Spencer did. Tala and Kai remained quiet and stern faced as always. Though, I did notice a slight blush that refused to fade on Tala's cheek. I wonder what that's from…hmm.

As we stepped into sunny Spain (well, rolled in my case) it immediately became apparent that the press had gotten hold of the whole "near-death" experience. As we stepped out of the doors, we were quickly ambushed with flashing cameras and pushy journalists who were practically falling on top of me. While Tyson is normally the one who they are dying for something from, the fact that I nearly died seemed to have them in a fierce frenzy of excitement, as horrible as that sounds.

"Violet! Violet! How are you? Tell us what happened!" they were screaming, shoving microphones in my face and jumping on top of me, flashes going off all round me. I held my hands up to block the flashing lights as my eye sight got blurry and I felt dizzy from the flashing lights. Thankfully, I had a fantastic team who quickly wheeled me to safety and into the mini-bus that would drive us to the hotel.

When we arrived at the hotel, I was quickly "serviced" by a local doctor, who checked my bloods and ensured everyone that by the time of the tournament in a few days, I would be more than capable of battling. I was more psyched to get out and about but Hiro was strict and confined me to the hotel suite, to get some rest so I was in tip top shape for the tournament.

A few days past and my energy gradually started to come back. Eventually, I was back to my fierce self and was keeping up with Tyson again. We were practicing in the hotel gym, sharpening our skills. We were next up against the Criminal Bladers and we would kick off the Spanish leg of the tournament so I was pumped to give the best show of my life. Either that or die trying. Though, personally I think I've done enough dying for one day!


	11. Chapter 11

I stood up, proudly and demonstrated a very strong strut across the training room, doing a back flip and walking magnificently on my hands before landing strongly back on legs.

"See!" I say, triumphantly striking a pose as Kenny, Daichi Tyson burst into fits of laughter and Hilary sighs. That girl has absolutely no sense of humour!

"Yeah, yeah. We get it; your legs are fine now. Now, can we concentrate on the upcoming match?" Hiro askes, his hands on his hips impatiently. Dealing with me, Tyson and Daichi all day must really wear his patience down.

"Yea! Let's go!" Tyson says, looking at me who nods at him.

We go to exit the training room but Tyson slows up, gazing out the door with a look of amazement on his face. I push past him and stick my head out; curious to what has his attention. I spot 4 figures, standing with their backs, talking to Barthez and his right hand boys: Miguel and Claude. They appear to be frustrating Barthez who has a look of annoyance on his face.

"Cheating? Why I never! You have no proof of your allegations!"

"There's no way you would have beaten the Majestics in the Europe if you hadn't have used all those dirty tricks!" a low voice growls, coming from a very tall guy with purple hair and I gasp, clasping a hand to my mouth. It's Robert from the Majestics! What's he doing there? I slide away from the door, giving Daichi room to fill my spot and crane his neck to catch the action. So does this mean Johnny's here? And Oliver? And that annoying flirt Enrique? I have no intention of hanging around to catch up with these boys, especially after last time we met so I quietly tip toe away from the group who are captivated watching the scene unfold in front of them and look around the room for an exit. I scan the room, my eyes resting on a door to the joint showers. This showers link up with the training room next door but I try not to concentrate on that as I slowly back away, quietly opening the door and disappearing into the shower room. I'm engulfed in a surprising cloud of steam and I can't see where I'm going.

I put my hands out in front of me and help to guide myself, hoping I'm heading in the right direction. My feet start to get wet from the puddles in the shower and I splash through the water, desperately searching for a sign of an exit. One step at a time until I accidentally step on a bar of soap and go whizzing forward, landing on my back, soaking in the water. I groan from the hit and lie in the water, unable to move from the pain. I suddenly hear a tap being turned on and my eyes flick open. Someone else is in here. Oh shit.

TALA POV

Wiping my sweat covered brow, I pull my shirt which is clinging to my chest up over my head and toss it away. I was just doing some workouts, kicking and punching the body bag until my arms and legs are pounding. My body is pumping with adrenaline and I breathe deeply, feeling my desperate for air lungs fill up and I love the feeling. Grabbing a towel, I swing it over my shoulder and head over for the showers. As I open the door to the shower room, I reach down and remove my shorts, before stepping into the steamy room. I flick on the shower and feel the warm water flow down my cold skin and I sigh with relief. Feeling the water soak into my skin gives me relief from the muscle sculpturing workout I have just been doing and I stand in the shower, my arm leaning on the wall in front of me, feeling the water run swiftly down my strong back. My mind quickly starts to wander. Our next match is fast approaching but yet I'm fairly I'm confidently we'll beat the competition. That isn't the only thing on my mind lately though. It was bad enough trying to avoid thinking about Violet before but now having pressed her soft supple lips against mine, it's almost impossible. I can't stop picturing it. I can't stop re-living it. I close my eyes, imagining her soft peaceful face as I pressed my lips against them. And worse of all, it makes me hungry for more.

I snap my eyes open as I hear something hit the floor. It's impossible to see anyone through the thick cloud of steam but I can swear I heard a noise. Shrugging it away, I start to run my hands along my body. Every-time I close my eyes, I see her face. Her beautiful, peaceful face. Whenever I just imagine it, something inside me ignites and I can't help imagining what it would be like to kiss her but this time, for her to be awake. And for her to want it. And oh boy, imagining that does something to me I could never explain.

I reach for the soap but my fingers can't feel it. Something touches my foot so I figure it must be on the floor. I bend down, extending my fingers, reaching for the soap until something warm and skin like touches my finger- tips. Confused, I grab whatever is in front of me and pull sharply. I make out the figure of a person and I pull them through the smoke, pulling them to their feet to get a good look at them. It's Violet! She's dripping head to toe in water, I'm guessing she slipped on the way in and is now drenched. Her hair is sticking to her back and her clothes are soaked right through. I try not to let my mind wander over her slippery body and almost forget that I'm standing in front of her, completely naked. Not to sound cocky but I don't think I have anything to be ashamed of showing off.

She wipes her eyes from water and looks up at me, instantly gasping as she recognises who it is in front of her. I watch as her eyes instantly glance over my body, a red beet root colour eclipsing her face as she quickly notices I'm naked. This makes me smirk at her and that seems to drive her face even redder. I decide to have a little fun with this.

"Ta..la..I'm..s..oo..so..rr…y…um" she stutters, her eyes darting away from me, not looking at me directly. I chuckle to myself and cross my arms over my chest.

"What are you doing Violet?" I say confidently.

"I…waa..s…just..em..looking for…the..wwa…a.y….out" she again stutters and I know she just wants to turn on her heels and run. She's so cute like this.

"The way out? Right, the way outs that way." I instruct and she immediately nods and she starts to walk away, again slipping and falling flat on the wet shower floor. I shake my head and chuckle as she tries to help herself back up, first getting onto her knees in front of me. My masculine senses seem to take over and I bite my lip to resist chuckling as I look down at her as I wait for her to notice what kind of incriminating position she's in. A minute later, she clasps a hand over her lips and looks up at me and I can see she's incredibly mortified. Poor girl.

I reach down and put my hands onto her arms and lift her to her feet in one movement. She looks up at my face this time and I can feel a warm heat from her face. Just as I hold her up, the shower decides to play up and stop working. I slam the wall to try and stimulate the pipes but nothing comes on.

"Here." She says, a hand to my chest and she starts turning the knob, left, right, left,left,right and the water springs to life, soaking us both.

"Impressive." I say, softly and slowly as I can't help but notice the water has turned her thin white shirt see-through. I can still see she's a bit uncomfortable with me being naked in front of her so I see how far I can push my luck.

"Let me help." I say softly, as her eyes flutter up at me nervously, watching my every movement. I step towards her and she steps back cautiously which sends the predator instinct inside me crazy.

I take another step and have essentially backed the girl into a corner, against the wet shower wall. I can hear her breathing get faster as I place my hands on either side of her head and look at her intensely. She stares at the floor, her cheeks still red hot and her hands trembling as the water drips from my hair and rolls down her cheek. I slowly wipe the water from the cheek with the back of my hand, looking deep into her emerald jewels of eyes which gaze up at me every few seconds and she looks up at me, her mouth slightly open, trembling in awe. I smile, loving how she shakes and quivers under me.

I'm so caught up in watching her every movement that I fail to notice the door creak open.

"Tala?"

She squeaks and covers her face as I turn round to see a very amused Bryan and Spencer, looking at me with mouths open with shock. Boy, if she was embarrassed before…

"Yeah?" I say, turning my head round as I feel Violet desperately try to hide behind me.

"Eh we were going to see if you're coming to watch BBA Revolution *chuckle* match but hey, if you're busy…"

"I'll be out in a minute" I say as Bryan and Spencer disappear, closing the door behind them. I hear their loud laughter in the other room and I step back, observing Violet who slides down the wall dramatically and puts her head in her hands, groaning. I grab my towel and wrap it round my waist, shutting off the water. I kneel down beside her and lift her chin up with one finger.

"Hey, chin up. It's not the end of the world. Some girls would actually enjoy being caught in the shower with me, you know."

She looks at me straight in the eye, her face still as hot as the sun and looks speechless. She then calmly says "you are so full of yourself Tala" and gets up and runs in the direction she came in. I chuckle as I tighten the towel on my waist. Try explaining that one to your team Violet.

VIOLET POV

I ran out of there so quickly, slamming the door behind me, finding myself in an empty training room. I quickly run to the couch and grab a pillow and stuff my face in it, screaming in frustration and embarrassment. I drop to my knees, only to quickly jump up, remembering the last thing I saw when I was on my knees. It was then, I catch sight of the TV and see a very confused Tyson who is looking around for me. I then scream and run into my bedroom, throwing on the first thing I see which happens to be a very pink dress. I don't have any time to realise how short it is on me and I turn, grabbing Nercissa on my way out and racing, my dripping wet hair flying out behind me. I run through the hallway until I catch sight of the stadium. I sprint, praying I can make it on time.

TALA POV

"Seriously, Tala, you were naked, in the shower, with Violet!"

"Yeah, yeah I heard you, now shut your mouth!" I say, sitting with my arms crossed and my eyes shut as my team-mates once again remind me of my little incident earlier. We're sitting in the crowd, minus one Kai as per usual awaiting the match to begin. The match is currently 15 minutes over due and the crowd is getting restless. I can't help but feel very smug knowing this is entirely my fault that she is so late. Not like I regret it. I can't shake that feeling of having her under me, looking at me like the way a frightened animal does when it's in danger of becoming dinner to a hungry wolf.

"Well, well look who it is Tala. Better late than never."

I open my eyes as Violet comes sprinting into the stadium and I bite my lip to resist laughing as I notice she's had a little change of costume. Something a bit more pink and perhaps, inappropriate for television. However I (and much to my dismay, a thousand other guys in the crowd) don't seem to be complaining as it is tightly fitted and shapes her every curve, as well as highlights her perfectly toned legs. As soon as the crowd catch sight of her, they erupt into cheers and wolf whistles which Bryan and Spencer both raise amused eyebrows at me which I ignore. I notice how Tyson runs up to her and looks at her before saying something which she seems to apologise for before then making her way up to the stadium. It seems she's blading first. This should be good.

VIOLET POV

I can't believe I'm standing here. On live television. My hair, currently sticking to me as it is soaking wet and wearing something that is so hideous. I had to go and pick up Hilary's dress by mistake. Only she would wear something so vile. As I watch the big screen survey the crowd, I catch sight of Tala and my face lights up like a beam instantly. Today could not be turning out better.

I walk up the steps and catch sight of my opponent. She stands, her hand on her hip, looking at me with disgust. I'd say she looks better than me and she's standing wearing tattered rags and has chewing gum hanging from the ends of her hair.

"Hi. Sorry I'm late. I'm Violet…" I begin, ready to start things on a fresh and friendly note. Clearly she has other plans.

"Shut it slut!" she barks and I step back, taken back instantly by her language.

"Don't play innocent with me. I know perfectly well, your type. Now are you ready to lose?"

"I don't take that kind of trash from anyone, nevertheless I'm willing to look the other way. I let my beyblade do the talking." I hold Nercissa up proudly.

I notice her eyes start to gleam as I hold up Nercissa and she smiles, a very toothy and troublesome grin.

DJ Jazz Man rallies us to prepare and I set up, tucking my dripping wet hair behind my ear, licking my lips and taking aim. He shouts let it rip and I fire, our blades instantly clashing and launching back at the opposites end of the dishes. Hers starts to dip and dive and I hang back for a second, observing her style of blading. She watches me and I get the feeling she's waiting for me to call out Nercissa. I look at her blade. She has no bit-beast.

"What are you waiting for?" I ask politely but she doesn't answer. She hides away in the shadow of the dish and I know she's waiting on me making a move. Moving in could be a mistake but if I wait around, nothing's going to happen.

"Alright, enough games! Nercissa, let's kick it up a notch. SIREN STRIKE!" Nercissa emerges valiantly from the blade, her eyes red with desire to win and glides fast and starts hammering into Alex's blade, tearing bit by bit. I look up as I see her chuckle under her breath and I get a bad feeling.

"I'm beating you down and you're laughing? What's the matter with you?"

"My poor girl, I think it's you who has something the matter with you. You don't deserve such a bit-beast of such power. But you know, I'd be more than willing to take her off your hands…"

She swishes her hand out and suddenly, her blade starts to smoke. The entire stadium fills in smoke and everyone starts to cough and begins running for the exits. I cough and collapse to my knees, gasping for air. I peer through the smoke and I can see Alex is leaning down, holding her palm out. I glance more closely and see she is wearing a device on her wrist that seems to be glowing, pulling Nercissa from my bit-chip and into the device. I feel my chest start to pull in tighter and I collapse on my stomach, reaching out forward, trying to prevent her from what she is doing.

"What…are…you…doing?!" I wheeze, clutching my throat as it tightens as if she is personally gripping me. She looks up and her eyes are alight with evil desire and says "why, taking Nercissa from you. You don't deserve her anyway. You're weak…and a slut. "

Why does she keep calling me that?

In what feels like my last breath, I scream Nercissa as I feel her energy begin to flow out of me. I'm sure darkness will once again envelope me but I'm wrong. My chest suddenly feels liberated and I start to breath normally. I rise to my knees and turn round to see Alex lying knocked out across the stadium, her blade lying pathetically at her side. Alex's small and dark haired partner, Cassie stands holding her beyblade in her right hand, which is glistened from being recently shot. I pull myself to my feet and call Nercissa who comes swinging back to me. I hug my blade tightly to my chest and look up to see Cassie who has ran over to my side. I jump down as the smoke begins to escape the stadium and people start to crowd back in. Tyson is currently racing towards me, pushing people to the floor as I approach the raven haired girl and ask "who are you?"

She bows at me and says "I'm sorry for everything Alex has done to you. I had no idea she was going to try and pull a stunt like this!"

Cassie is a small but petite fifteen year old girl, so she is a year and bit younger than I am. Her short wispy black hair is cut perfectly just above her neck, her long sweeping fringe styled so it drapes across her left eye. I take her in, in one glance and I can see her body posture suggests she has low self-esteem, she stands awkwardly, clutching her arm and she looks so lost. However, her eyes are also a deep bright blue, highlighted by her beautiful butterfly eyelashes. Her lips are tiny; coloured in a pale pink but her top lip is very pouty and makes her look older slightly. She's dressed equally as poor as her team-mate but I catch sight of her blade which she strokes protectively in her hand and notice the shine of a bit-beast. Something inside me tells me she's nothing like the poor example of a blader that Alex is; this girl actually seems like a nice person.

"So what was she doing exactly?" I say, looking across the dish as Alex is surrounded by the stadium security and frog marched out.

"I think, she was trying to steal you bit-beats." Cassie says horrified as she tightens her grip over her own blade. Even a normal blader dreads anything that could pose a threat to stealing away their bit-beast. It's the biggest nightmare we have.

"How?" I say, as a flash back of the flashing device that seemed to be calling Nercissa out. It seemed very hi-tech and expensive which made me highly suspicious. How could a street urchin afford something like that?

"I have no idea. Please Violet, I had no idea what she trying to do!" Cassie cries, her own little eyes starting to well up.

"I would ever try anything so evil. It's been tearing me up inside, ever since she tried to steal Nercissa from you at the airport. I should have said something sooner…"

"So that's what happened." I say, suddenly feeling the pieces of the puzzle come together.

I have one more question though,

"So what are you going to do now?" I say, as DJ Jazz Man and Mr Dickinson take to the platform to try and bring harmony back to this mess of a beyblade match.

"It's only fair that I withdraw our team immediately." Cassie says determined which I'm shocked at. For someone so small and frail, she has a fighting spirit.

"To continue on, after Cassie put everyone in danger, especially you as well as disgrace the whole BBA would be an awful decision. Besides, I doubt whether she acted alone. I have my doubts about the rest of my team. "

When did the world of beyblade become so complex?

"Mr Dickinson!" Cassie shouts, turning to the chairman who has just taken the microphone and has begun to address the stadium.

"Yes?" he says, his old eyes darting from us to Tyson who was ran to my side and has whispered in my ear to explain to him what on earth is going on.

"I officially withdraw my team from the championships. I'm sorry about Alex and all the damage she has created but we can longer go any further. Thank you for everything!" she says as there are murmurs of confused and suspicious voices around the stadium. Tyson looks at me but then looks back, his eyes falling instantly on the small teenage girl who looks at me and smiles. I smile and feel proud of her. Her honour is admirable and I truly believe her, that she was an innocent bystander in Alex's evil ways.

"Again, Violet, I am so sorry." She says sadly, her head turned to the side in disgrace.

"Hey, it's not your fault. And to bow out of the tournament like her, heck, that's the most honourable thing I've ever seen. You're worth a hundred of girls like her. You're a good person Cassie!" I say, punching her arm playfully. She blushes and rubs her arm, smiling at me like I made her day. She's obviously been struggling with this for a while.

"Well, I guess I better get going…"

"Hey! You don't HAVE to go, right?" Tyson pipes up and we both look at him, my eyebrow raised and I say "huh?"

"Well, you are going to stay for the rest of the tournament? I mean, it would mean a lot to us, I MEAN, em, to Violet? You did-sort of save her life after all?" Tyson says, for once in his life, stumbling around his worlds. I'm taken back by this new Tyson. Tyson has never been at lose of words in his entire life. Never.

"Right Violet?" Tyson, says turning to me as Cassie looks at me, speechless.

I notice the pressing tone in his voice and I get the feeling he wants Cassie to stay. This is weird because I didn't even know he knew her before now. Though, I do notice he's got a hot flush across his cheeks and for a second, I think he's got a crush on Cassie! Tyson Granger, my best friend, has a crush? It doesn't compute with me and I shake my head, trying to ignore the head boggling possibility, returning to the situation at hand.

"Of course Cassie! I'd love you to stay. It'll give us a chance to get to know each other better too. Trust me, I could use a girl's company around here!" I say, winking at her.

"But doesn't Hilary sort of help the team?"

"Trust me, once you get to know Hilary, you won't class her as a girl at all. More like a Barbie doll cloning experiment gone horribly wrong!" Tyson, says making a funny face dramatically, causing Cassie to giggle, her hair bouncing from her hidden eye and I watch Tyson stop and seem to be caught up in the moment. This seems so weird to me, I can't believe my eyes.

We're interrupted as DJ Jazz Man announces that due to the Criminal Bladers forfeit, the BBA Revolution advance to the next round of the tournament. I high five Tyson who grins widely and I sense the usual feeling of determination exchange between us. Oh yeah, we're going all the way!

"So Cassie…" I say, eyeing her outfit. She cocks her head to the side, confused and says "yeah?"

"Do you like pink?" I say, grinning like a maniac, my teeth bared, pointing at the horrible thing on my body. Tyson and Cassie exchange looks and both collapse in a fit of laughter which I soon join in with. Something tells me it's going to good to have Cassie around.


	12. Chapter 12

It the day before the final of the whole tag team championship.

And much to my surprise and despite Tyson's over confident "of course we will be" attitude, we were actually in the finals!

Dealing with everyone we had faced on the way hadn't been easy, especially against Barthez and his cheating team. During that match, I had faced Mathilda and when her beyblade self-destructed, a bit chip flew towards me and sliced across my cheek. Ever since I've been wearing an un-attractively large plaster on my right cheek.

That was a whole month ago and as a stood nervously outside the large dojo in Japan, I pondered everything that had happened to me in the last little while. I had voluntarily/involunaarilly entered a world -wide tournament for the first time. I had met a boy who was a little crazy and childish sometimes but has turned out to be my best friend in the whole wide world and now I couldn't imagine not having in my life. I had befriended a girl who was originally on a team that had a lunatic leader who was out to steal my bit-beast. Cassie had been such a great asset to the team.

She knew so much about beyblade technology and was constantly helping the chief to upgrade our beyblades as well as being a super blader herself. She even told me that she was an orphan from the streets of Brooklyn in where she met Alex who promised her a life of riches and fame if she went along with her rather, strange ways of getting the job done. She had even led a life of crime, stealing beyblades and selling the parts on for cash. I comforted her as she wept about her past and I felt a connection of friendship begin to grow between us. We had been laughing and spending lot of time together, shopping in Spain and Egypt. It was great to have a little girl time. I had missed out on such a huge chunk of my life when I had lost my mum.

After that, I kept seeing Tyson and Cassie everywhere together- on the balconey at night, at the pool and going for night time walks. I remember Hiro even commented on my curious expression as I saw them walking away together.

"It's not what you think."

What does that even mean?

So as I stood outside this large dojo, staring at the marble sign that read "Granger residence", recalling the words that Tyson had said to me after our last match "you have to stay at my house, I'll introduce you to grandpa!" and clutching my suitcase, I suddenly felt oddly out of place.

This strange and new vibe lately, only made the distraction of Tala that much harder to avoid. It had now gotten to the stage that it was almost impossible to ignore that there was something between us. Something that I didn't even know I could ever feel. Even for someone who was the master of repressing emotions, when he smiled at me, I felt my stomach tie itself into knots and I found it hard to swallow back my fear of not being in control.

However, despite everything I was currently feeling, I was determined to put a brave face on and get through this final hurdle. I took a deep breath and stepped into the dojo, only to be instantly greeted by an old man, running at me, waving a stick above his head. Screaming in fear, I duck for cover, clutching my head as the sword comes swinging above me. It flies for my feet and I jump, landing with a thud onto the dirt. I rub my backside which is rather sore from the fall and I find the sword has lowered to my chin. I look up into the face of a now very friendly grey haired old man who oddly shares a striking resemblance to Tyson in the way that their eyes stretch outwards when they smile.

"Sorry about that homegirl! Just wanted to check your reflects !" he happily booms, pulling his sword back up and leaning on it like a cane.

"Well, that's good and all but next time a little warning would be great." I groan, pulling myself back to my feet. "Anyway, are you Tyson's grandpa?"

"Why yes! That little dude better be singing my praises! Or else!" he says, kicking and swinging his sword around effectively, cutting the jagged edges of the plants that we're overgrown in his garden off and I'm impressed.

"Eh, yeah. Well, is Tyson home?"

"Sorry dudette! He just left. Said he was in a hurry. I figured he was away to see this Violet girl I've been hearing so much about. Who would have thought: my grandson, smitten!"

I blush and shake my head, completely caught back by this old man's rambling speech.

"Well, I'm afraid you're looking at said girl so it must be someone else. And about this smitten business…"

The old man stops mid- sentence and turns and stares at me, his mouth gapping open. He suddenly runs at me, embracing me in a tight hug and I cough and gasp for air as he squeezes me tight, lifting my legs off the ground.

"O…ok..ay…you…can..let me go now!" I wheeze and he drops me, keeping his wrinkly clammy hands on my shoulders.

"Thank you."

"Huh?"

"Tyson was a WRECK before you joined the team. Losing Rei, Max and Kai all at once, well that near did destroy the little dude's confidence! But, now since he's been back, he's a completely different Tyson! Thank you." He quickly exhales, his eyes closing and breathing in. I blink and I'm silenced instantly. I never realised Tyson was suffering so much that his own grandfather would be so concerned.

"…em, well it's no problem! Tyson's helped me a lot to since the tournament so I guess we're even."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that!" he cheekily sings, winking at me suggestively which again makes me blush for some reason. This old man sure has a habit of making me lost for words.

However, before I can begin to revive my ability to put a sentence together, the chief appears from behind grandpa and I've never been happier to see him.

"Kenny!" I smile and he smiles back as a friendly female face pops round from his shoulder.

I automatically notice that our shopping spree did not go a miss. Cassie looks great in the new clothes, plus she's now looking cleaner and well- scrubbed. Her hair is less tattered and brushed through, pinned back by sparkly hair clips at her small ears. I also gave it a small trim, getting rid of the many split ends that were ruining what could be a very beautiful young girl.

"Cassie, it's so good to see you guys!"

"Good to see you too Vi! We were wondering where you had got to. I hope you didn't get lost!" Kenny intelligently says, adjusting his circular glasses which had fallen onto the edge of his nose. For some reason, I observe that Cassie's eyes never leave the Chief and she's smiling a small happy smile, biting her bottom lip in a very flirty manner.

"Yeah, even Tyson got worried!" Cassie joins in, again looking at Kenny and then at me. I raise an eyebrow and give a look that demands an explanation but she just looks at me as if to say "later".

"Oh, so Tyson's here after all then?"

"Oh..em!" Kenny stutters, jumping to attention and looking at Cassie who suddenly looks startled. They both stumble around their words until an older bluenette, last but not least joins the group, appearing from the dark doorway of the dojo.

"Tyson isn't here. He went out." Hiro asks in a "matter of fact" tone.

"Oh, where did he go?" I ponder but I'm quickly silenced by Hiro who struts towards me and towers above me, his shadow casting over me.

"That doesn't concern you. What matters is that you need to practice for tomorrows match. If you plan to beat Tala, you NEED to practice. Daichi's through in the back, you can practice with him until Tyson returns."

All this distraction of Tyson's disappearance had made me forget that I was going to face Tala tomorrow. I gulp and I give in to Hiros demands, wheeling my suitcase in the dojo, unaware of the exchanged looks between those three. I hoped Tyson returned soon. I had watched Tala's every match, he was one amazing blader and for once in my entire life, I doubted my abilities. Tyson was always good for motivating me. Where could he be?

TYSON POV

Was it 34th or 43rd street?

Confused, I wandered the busy high street, glancing from left to right, desperately trying to find the shop I was searching for. I always thought I was pretty decent with directions until today. I couldn't make head or tail where I was.

I bobbed up and down on the spot, trying to see over the heads of the tall adults who pushed by me, going about their everyday lives. Eventually, I puffed out a frustrated breath and stuffed my hands in my pockets, feeling the cold metal of Dragoon touch my fingertips. Suddenly, the metal warmed up instantly and I yelped, pulling the blade from my pocket. For some reason, it was steaming, smoke flying up into the air, drifting in front of me. I watch as the smoke forms an unusual shape and I stand confused until it eventually, forms the shape of a…dragon.

Dragoon was leading me the way!

I grin widely and mentally thank my bit-beast and break into a run, following the steadily flowing steam that rounds several corners. I skid out of an alley and catch myself on my right foot, keeping one hand on my hat to stop it blowing away and another wrapped round dragoon in my palm.

I take several more corners and the steam disappeared in front of my eyes, bringing the name of the shop into view. My relief pumps through my veins and I feel very excited as I press my hands and face against the window, my eyes scanning the display for the one item I so desperately desire. I start to panic until my eyes land on a beautifully carved silver chain. From the end of the chain, hangs a beautiful jewel that is a dark shade of purple-Violet. My teeth are grinding together in excitement as I can't take my eyes from it, captivated.

All those late night conversations with Cassie were suddenly coming together. Ever since she joined us, I had spoken to her at any opportunity I had gotten. Having a girl that could give me an opinion I could trust really highlighted the idea I had, ever since Violet almost died at the airport. It was no wonder I was eager to not let her leave the tournament. I wasn't stupid. I could see that she instantly clicked with Violet who I knew didn't warm to people that easily. So when I told her about this, she was just as happy as I was.

I heard a click and my heads snaps to the right to see an older woman with wispy grey hair locking the door to the shop and beginning to pull the shutter down. I panic and dive towards the lady who screams and stumbles back as I land at her feet and clutch the end of her long gypsy skirt.

"Please! I beg you, don't lock up just yet!"

"I'M SORRY!" she yells, trying to pull herself away me. "I'm shut for the day, you'll have to come back tomorrow."

"But there is no time!" I squeal, sweat drops appearing around my forehead and I remove my cap with one hand, wiping my brow, still holding the woman's legs. She stops struggling, her eyes looking down at my face.

"Well, aren't you Tyson?" she exclaims, her eyes wide and mouth gapping open in presumed shock.

"Eh, yeah! Guess you most have heard of me, I'm pretty famous…"

"You're Ryu's grandson!" she sequeals, kneeling down clasping her elderly hands together. I sweat drop, collapsing on my back.

"I should have recognised the family resemblance. You look just like Ryu did when he was your age. You know, your grandfather was quite the handsome devil…" she says, her eyes starry eyes as I suddenly feel queasy as she rambles on.

"Well, yeah yeah! Anyway, can you please help me?" I yell, jumping to my feet, my fists tightly pressed together.

She stops and looks at me, rising to her feet and pulling the shutter up and twisting the key until a loud click is heard. She smiles and she pushes the door open.

"Of course! Anything for my old love's grandson!"

That's not something I thought I would hear today.


	13. Chapter 13

Wherever Tyson had disappeared to, it must have been some place cause he came back, grinning from ear to ear and raced into his room, shutting his door behind him. Before I could knock on his door, he flew out and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the dish. And just like that, we were practising, our blades flying around, dodging and diving, our power channelled into our blades. As our blades flew up into our palms, the sweat glistening from our brows, I gasped as I noticed how dark it had suddenly gotten. The moon casts a beautiful silver glow across the still pond. I stood next to it, observing my reflection and I felt at peace as Tyson fell into place at my side.

"What you thinking about?" he quietly says as my eyes lock onto the sleeping figures of Kenny and Cassie on the steps of the dojo. I giggle as I notice how Cassie who is sitting on Kenny's right has slipped and her head had landed comfortably on his small shoulder. The cuteness continues as Kenny's specs have slipped and are lying at an ankle, the right lenses touching the tip of Cassie's now silky smooth black hair.

"Just how peaceful it is here. You truly have a lovely home Tyson." I compliment, looking back into the face of my best friend who smiles, his lip curling upwards, exposing the small dimples in his cheeks.

"Oh it's nice, as homes go. "he says, swinging on his heels, his thumb running over Dragoon in his hand as I take him in. He looks like he has something on his mind too.

A light breeze whizzes by us, lightly slapping my hair across my face and I shut my eyes, feeling the coldness relax my body. It feels like forever as we stand in silence, the world around us still and beautiful. My eyelids flutter open and I see a very serious Tyson who is looking at me, his eyes honed in my face.

"Tyson?"

He says nothing and I feel very alarmed. He's never this quiet.

"What's wrong? You know you can always tell me anything." I say openly, lightly touching his arm. His eyes follow my hand and I feel his body tense up as my fingers brush over his arm.

"Tyson?"

He doesn't answer me but looks at the pond, his eyes watching the small ripples the tadpoles make as they swirl around the water. I observe the champion and I feel very sad for him, his head bowed and hands dug deep in his pockets. I walk behind him and acting very out of character, I wrap my arms around his waist as an act of comfort, my head leaning against his back. I feel his body straighten out as my palm lightly touches his chest. I shut my eyes and I'm happy that his body relaxes and he places his warm hands over mine, squeezing them back. I'm happy that he is responding at last.

He turns to face me, looking like he is finally going to say something. I close my mouth and wait and watch as he opens his mouth and utters a single sound but is silenced by the groans and moans of the sleeping teens behind us. We turn around and walk them stretch and pull apart, both a little flustered from the position they were both sitting in.

"Oh my, what time is it?" Kenny says, touching his face and pulling his laptop back into a secure position within his arms.

"Shouldn't you guys be in bed?" Cassie says, yawning.

Tyson and I look at each together before then mumbling in unison that they are right. Everyone begins to walk away to bed while I take a second longer to observe my surroundings.

As Kenny and Cassie disappear from view, I skip up to Tyson who is leanings against the beam of the dojo, staring up at the moon. The silence rings through the air until finally, I speak up.

"I'm scared." I confess, crossing my arms over my chest, looking down at the floor. Tyson looks at me, his eyebrows raised.

"You shouldn't be."

"But, Tyson. I am." I reply, sitting down on the steps where he quickly joins me, sitting close to me.

"I know this must seem like nothing to you, 3rd championship in a row, it must be old news to you! but for me, it's huge! And you know, I never wanted to be part of a world- wide tournament. It was never something I thought I would do. I always thought I would be home, maybe with a little brother or sister, with my mum…"

I bite my lip and Tyson automatically encircles my shoulders with a warm arm. His hand strokes my shoulder gently as the cold begins to seep in and we huddle together.

"She would be so proud of you." Tyson says his voice soft and quiet. "I'm proud of you."

I smile, blinking back any potential tears and look at his face. I've never met a friendlier and warmer person than Tyson Granger. He truly was my best friend. What would I do without him?

"But you really think I could beat someone like Tala?"

"I know so." He says confidently, clasping my hand in his, squeezing it affectionately.

"Whatever happens, I'm going to try my very best. For the team. For the BBA. For us…"

Tyson is beaming at me and at that, I rise and with a final nod of the head, I watch towards my room, ready for a good sleep and feeling on top of the world. With Tyson behind me, I refused to give in to my fears. Tomorrow was going to be a day to remember, no matter what.

TYSON POV

As I watched Violet watch away, watching her figure disappear into the darkness, I sigh in defeat and put my head against the wall. Ignoring how I felt was getting me nowhere. Trying to tell her was even worse.

Of all the days to come to grips with how I felt, it just had to be the day before the biggest day of my life. All this time, I had been ignoring it, pushing it way down into the pits of my stomach. Refusing to accept the butterflies in my stomach, every time I saw her walking towards me, her smile lighting up the room like always.

She was my best friend. So I refused to believe it was anything else. But, I hadn't felt like this for anyone in my life. And sometimes I felt like she felt the same. The way she held me, the way she comforted me. She understood me on a level no one else ever had.

So, I bought the chain with the intention of giving it to her, confessing everything. It all sounded so perfect inside my head but when I tried to tell her, I looked like a psycho, staring at her, unable to mutter a single sound.

So, now I was going into the biggest fight of my life. Against someone who almost knew my blading style better than I did.

Kai.

Yet, I was stuck on someone who could potentially only see me as friend which was a possibility that was killing me.

I was in love with Violet.

VIOLET POV

It was the day of the championship match and as Tyson was busy with Kenny, perfecting his beyblade which was heavily damaged, I sat with my fingers rubbing my temples, my eyes transfixed on the sports coverage on the TV.

So far, the world was going crazy at the prospect of Tyson's third time victory. And surprisingly, plenty of journalists had also latched onto my involvement and pleasantly, I had received good press comments on my beyblading style.

Still, the constant replay of previous matches of the Blitzkreig Boys-Kai and Tala-was making my heart race like a train. I could feel Nercissa trying to calm me down but my body refused to take notice. And Hilary's presence wasn't doing it any good.

"For goodness sake Violet, calm down. You don't see Tyson acting like you are, shaking like a child. Get a grip." She huffs, crossing her arms and I feel the urge to punch her in the jaw.

Thankfully as I go to stand up and knock her out, Cassie smiles and pats my shoulder.

"Ignore her Vi. She's just jealous of you. I mean look, the whole world is rooting for you and Tyson. "she optimistically sings, pointing at the TV which is now showing the very highlights of the tournament for BBA Revolution. It brings back happy memories as I see Tyson and I hugging in victory and high fiving, laughing. We certainly had come a long way.

The camera suddenly switches to DJ Jazz Man who is whipping the crowd into a frenzy as he gets ready to introduce the first match.

I take in a huge breath and rise to my feet, everyone looking at me. The silence in the room makes it absolutely known at how serious this is, even if Hilary still refuses to warm to me. They all surround me-Kenny dropping a newly renovated Nercissa into my palm and advising me how to go about this match, Hiro looking at me and nodding in the way I've grown to know as "go for it", Cassie smiling and hugging me, whispering my ear that she knows I can do it and finally, Tyson who strangely stands back, his own mind likely to be working overtime.

I approach him and we both stare into each other's eyes, seeing uncertainly but hunger for victory quickly ignites us both and we smile, ready for the fight of our lives. He holds a hand up which I grab and we squeeze each other. I've never felt so ready as I exit the room, walking down the long corridor towards the roaring crowd. Each footstep bounces against the walls and I feel my heart is threatening to jump out of my chest. As I reach the end of the hallway, I turn into the left where I stand on the designated platform, ready to rise up into the stadium. I breathe in, closing my eyes, my fingers gripping the handle of my shooter so hard that the metal imprints marks on my fingers.

The platform slowly starts to rise into a thick mist of smoke. I can't see a single thing but my heart is quickened by the booming voices of thousands of eager beyblade fans who are going absolutely crazy. Slowly, the mist starts to break and I'm left standing, completely vunerable to the world.

At first, I put a hand over my eyes to stop the blinding lights which are all aimed at me. I can just make out the shadows of DJ Jazz Man and a figure at the other side of where I'm standing. I quickly assume this is Tala and as my eyes start to adjust to the stadium lights, my suspicions are confirmed.

Tala stands, his eyes closed and his arms crossed, a small smirk tugging at his lips. His whole body radiates confidence and for a second, I comprehend turning on my heels and getting the hell out of there. However, my mind remembers my team who are completely behind me and I take my first step, climbing the steps to the bey stadium.

"I thought you'd never get here." He effortlessly sneers, his eyes snapping open. Whether the heat in here has suddenly increased or whether it's coming from the sheer fact that Tala has locked his eyes on mine, I can feel my face begin to glow. I quickly shake it off and ignore Tala's comment, my full attention on getting through this match as quick and painlessly as possible.

"Save your smart comments for the bey stadium Tala." I respond, loading my shooter with Nercissa and pulling the string back as far as possible, hearing the usual click of it locking into position. Tala chuckles to himself and loads his own blade.

"I can promise you, I don't go easy on anyone. Regards of who they are." He spits at me, his eyes travelling down my body. Again, my cheeks flush and I growl, trying to turn all my energy towards knocking him out.

"Quit the chit-chat." I angrily snap, looking at Mr Dickinson who is introducing the tournament final.

"For some- one who looks like you do, you certainly are very easily wound up." He smirks, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

"And for someone who looks like you, you aren't very good at listening. Shut up and let's start the match!" I demand, suddenly drawing the attention of everyone in the stadium. I squeak as the stadium grows quiet and again, Tala smirks at me, raising an eyebrow, clearly entertained my strange mood today. Pressure gets to me, if you haven't noticed.

"Well, yes, um, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to begin the first match of the final of the TAG team championship. Tala vs Violet, can you feel the excitement?" DJ Jazz Man starts as the stadium rises to the floor. It's elaborate and may cause a bit of difficulty. This match will not be easy.

Nevertheless, I steady my stance, strong and ready. I keep my eyes focused on my stadium floor, my mind set on my target.

"Ready Violet?" Tala sniggers and my grip tightens. For some- one so attractive, he certainly is annoying. And he knows it which makes it even worse.

And before we know it, we're launching our blades. I let go my shooter, my blade whipping through the air and I yell out, unleashing the power of Nercissa. She hits the floor and starts twisting around, dodging the objects littered throughout the stadium. I can't spot Tala's blade which had disappeared behind some rumble which makes me start to panic. As my blood starts to pump quicker round my body, Tala quickly jumps out behind a rock and sails towards me, momentarily catching me off guard.

"Miss me?" he teases, cocking his head to the side and crossing his arms, clearly the master of toying with his opponent. Two can play at this game.

"Don't flatter yourself." I banter back, flinging my arm out, signalling Nercissa to go on the attack, driving Tala back. Sparks fly from the contact from our blades, the friction of the metal being locked in a constant power struggle. He scowls and looks at me, suddenly the fun disappearing from his face. Our blade lock into place, neither one moving back but both pushing forward, harder and more forceful than ever. I feel the energy begin to seep from my body as I grit my teeth and dig my feet into the floor, maintaining my position.

"Looks like we're in a stalemate here folks!"

"NOT FOR LONG!" I scream and break contact from Tala, blazing up the floor of the stadium. His blade slides forward but takes the chase, close on my tail. The gap begins to close and just as it is seconds away from slamming into me, I throw my hands into the air which Nercissa copies and flies into the air. Heads follow my blade which has disappeared into the sky and Tala looks frustrated.

"Awww, what's wrong Tala? Things not going the way you expected?" I say, sweetly but patronising as my blade falls back into view, this time glowing red and gold. Tala gasps and steadies himself. I enjoy catching him unaware.

"TOO BAD!" I proclaim, pointing at him which Nercissa obeys and falls to the floor. She hits the stadium, causing a whole cloud of dust to surround us, making it impossible to see. I cough as the dust surrounds me and I touch the floor with my fingers, my knee bent. The dust begins to settle and my eyes search for a beyblade that has stopped spinning. However, my hopes are dashed when I see ice shards that have grown from nowhere, sealing off Tala's blade from my attack. Drats!

"I think you seriously need to reconsider who you're actually battling against, my dear." He taunts, licking his lips in the way he does that makes my insides growl with desire.

"Wolfborg, let's show her who see's dealing with!" he says and this time, I'm caught off guard as his own attack is stepped up. He calls out Wolfborg which honestly, is a pretty awesome bit-beast. Ice shards fly towards Nercissa who dodges until one catches the rim of the blade, causing it to begin to wobble. I gasp and pray silently as Nercissa wobbles but thankfully, regains balances. I breathe a sigh of relief.

"That was too close." I think.

"Master, I think it's time.".

"Tala, you better hold onto your horses cause you're about to get a one way ticket from this tournament!" I say as our blades circle each other, like sharks, waiting for the best opportunity to strike.

"On the contrary, it's you who's about to lose." He says as our blades suddenly start to charge towards each other, one last stand.

"We'll see."


	14. Chapter 14

…

My eyes slowly start to blink into consciousness and I'm very confused to find myself in a hospital ward. My eyes scan the room and the small medical ward is crammed with balloons, "get well cards" and a very large golden teddy bear in the corner. I start to sit up and I groan as I feel my body being very tense. I lean back on the pillow and touch my face. My hand jumps back as I feel a long tube that runs into my nose. Okay, what happened?!

Just as my mind is trying to recall where it left off, the door opens and my eyes lock onto a very familiar figure.

"Tyson!" I happily croak and I take him in. Like myself, he seems very tense and his body looks exhausted. However, he is also grinning from ear to ear and bounces towards me and embraces me in a tight bear hug. He perches at the end of the bed, pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear affectionately.

"Tyson, why am I here?" I laugh, pointing to our surroundings.

"You don't remember?" he says, shocked but still smiling.

"No! I just remember battling Tala and then…" I say, my sentence cutting stop as I search my mind for the answer.

"Well, the reason you're here is because you used up so much energy that you knocked yourself out. In fact now that I think about it, both you and Tala were pretty messed up. The only difference is that Tala eventually got to his feet while you remained passed out on the floor. You gave us a hell of a fright Vi!"

"But Tyson, who won?"

"Seriously, you can't remember! My god, I did think you would remember something. You know, that match was…"

"Tyson?"

"…so impressive. I've never seen a closer match to be honest, well part of when I fight Rei, Max and Kei you know. It's pretty…"

"TYSON FOR GOODNESS SAKE, WHO WON THE BLOODY MATCH?!" I scream, loud enough that the whole hospital must have heard it. I grab the collar of his shirt and pull him towards me. His eyes are wide open with shock and he blinks rapidly.

"It was a draw."

"A draw!" I exclaim, letting out a frustrated sigh and lying back on the bed, my hand draped across my forehead. All that and I couldn't even win. I feel the usual frustration start to flare up inside me but I calm it, for the sake that Tyson is sitting inches away from me.

"Hey, Vi, aren't you going to ask about my match?"

My feelings are subdued as I sit up instantly, my face painfully still and I search signs of Tyson's face for clues.

"What happened?"

Tyson answers by rising to his feet and picking up the television remote, clicking it on. The TV comes to life and instantly zones in on a happy Tyson…holding the trophy!

"YOU WON!" I scream, scrambling to get out of the bed. My legs are all tangled in the covers which make Tyson chuckle but I yank him off me and throw them away. Unable to reach Tyson due to the wires attached to me, I yank them out and launch myself at him, knocking him to the ground with a hard thud. He bursts into a hysterical laughter which is very catching as I find myself laughing uncontrollably. Tyson holds me in his arms as we lie on a messy bundle of limbs on the floor.

"You really did it." I eventually say, feeling suddenly very emotional.

"No." he says, pulling us both into a sitting position. "WE did it."

"I could have done better."

"What! You did AMAZING. Tala is one of the toughest competitors in the world and you seriously gave him a run for his money. He even said you were one of the greatest beybladers he's ever met…"

"Really?" I say, feeling very happy.

"Take it from me, you rocked."

"Awwww, Ty." I say, lightly punching his shoulder.

"Listen, Vi. There's something I need to tell you. Something I've been meaning to tell you for a while. It's…" Tyson starts and I sit up, my attention focused on Tyson. However…

"… AND HERE THEY ARE-THE BEYBLADE WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS!"

A huge chorus of news reporters parade into the room which I jump back from as they begin to push microphones and cameras in our faces. The cameras are flashed in my face which I start to feel dizzy from. I cover my eyes, just as another figure pushes themselves into the room and starts to demand that they all leave. I start to recognise the tall figure as Hiro, the ever so helpful coach.

"Violet, how you feeling?" he says, concerned and leans down beside me as Tyson lies, flattened on the floor.

"I'm feeling better. Tyson filled me in on the details. We won?"

"Sure did." Hiro says, smiling proudly, his eyes flicking in the direction of his younger brother.

"Thanks to you, Tyson was able to face Kai and give him a match that will go down in history. Honestly, it was incredible."

"Shame I ended up in here though and missed the whole thing."

"Oh, I dunno. I sort of think you being unconscious worked in our favour."

"How? How can that ever be a good thing?"

"It motivated Tyson that's for sure. He went crazy after you were hurt. He really cares for you."

"What's that now?" Tyson says, sitting up and scratching his head. I roll my eyes and throw my arms around his neck.

"Oh nothing, champ!"

A few hours later, I was officially cleared from the hospital and safely back in Tyson's home. His grandpa had set up my very own room and loudly stated "you can stay for as long as you like. How does forever sound?"

We had dodged a fair amount of reporters on the way home but thanks to the protective Granger brothers, not a single reporter got a shot of me. All over my body were bumps and bruises but on the whole, I was in pretty good shape. I was thankful for that as I stood facing the mirror, holding up various dresses which Cassie had been great to pick out for me during my absence.

According to Hiro, tonight was the farewell ball, a chance for all the teams to interact with one and another after the tournament. And of course, a chance for me and Tyson to formally accept our titles.

It would be a five star occasion so naturally, it was a chance to scrub up good and proper. I had caught sight of Hilary who, coincidentally had forgotten to ask how I was after being let out of hospital and I was taken back at the particular dress she had chosen. It was very tight and thanks to the padded chest, it gave her rather flat chest a bit of oomph. Not particularly in a good way. It was hot pink.

I was thankfully Cassie had better taste as I finally settled on a dress. I sat down at the dressing table grandpa had put in my room and observed my tired but respectable reflection. I pulled open one of the draws in the table and my eyes instantly noticed a bit of paper, lying crumbled up at the back. Curious, I pull it out and turn it round, surprised to find it is an old photograph. The photograph is of a young woman, likely in her twenties. She's standing facing the camera but her face is turned towards the adorable bundle of joy that she cradles in her arms. Her mouth is turned up in a hushing way as she rocks the baby who is crying, wrapped up in a soft blanket.

"Now that's a beautiful woman."

I sit up, turning my head to door where Tyson stands, wearing a very dashing black suit. His tie hangs loosely around his neck and his hands dug into his trouser pockets. I hand out the photograph which he takes and looks at, his face clouding over with a mixture of happiness and sadness. He strokes the photo with his thumb before kissing it lightly and turning to leave.

"Be ready for 8."

He pulls the door shut on his way out, leaving me confused and concerned for the young man. I turn my attention back to primping myself. I decide to leave my purple locks down, twirling them into long angel curls that extended until they stopped at my waist. I pin my fringe upwards, spraying it with hairspray so it has a bit of volume. Satisfied with my hair do, I start on my makeup, applying a coat of pale pink lip-gloss. Adding colour to my normally pale face, I brush on a cover of bronzer and add a light shade of pink blush. I finish it by giving my eyes a dramatic make over, slicking on some mascara and a line of eyeliner that flicks out at the ends. Finally, I pull off my remaining clothes carefully lifting the dress to my body. I unzip the long zip that runs down the side of the dress and slide it over my body, smiling as the silk caresses my skin. I step into my heels which are lying on the floor as a light tap comes at the door.

"Come in!"

The door opens and my eyes land on a beautiful young girl. I smile as Cassie does a twirl, showing off her green cocktail dress. The front of the dress stops short at her knees while the back is long and trails along the ground. On her feet as a pair of frog green stilettoes, dotted with diamonds.

"I see being on the winning team has done you good Cassie!" I giggle as I stand up, noticing that I tower over Cassie. I turn round and Cassie automatically leans in to zip my dress. I lean forward as she slides it up, stepping back giving me room to observe my reflection. I'm absolutely in love with my dress. My dress is a glittering white cocktail dress with a very noticeable slit up the side that puts my left thigh on display. On my right thigh, is a white diamond garter belt that also holds my beyblade.

"Think I look okay?" I ask Cassie who is gaping in my direction.

"You look… HAWT!" she says, in an over the top American accent which I laugh at due to the fact it was so bad.

"Come on." I say, grabbing my matching clutch bag and pulling her out the room. Fixing the contents of my bag, I knock into the person in front of me.

"Sorry!" I say looking up and I'm taken back by how well Tyson scrubs up. His hair is slicked back with gel. His suit is buttoned up and he has an adorable black bow tie around his neck. He has a very bold aroma drifting from him which I can't resist leaning in to get more off.

"My, oh my someone smells nice!" I say, winking at Tyson who laughs under his breath, his eyes staring at the ground.

"Ready to go?" he says, running a hand over his hair.

I laugh and link my arm with Tyson who smiles back at me. I pick up the train of my dress in my hand and we clamber down the steps, stepping out into the brisk night. It is a calm but chilly night and I feel the hairs on my arm start to pick up as we step out on the street. Thankfully, my eyes fall onto a similar dressed Granger who stands next to a bubbly Hilary who is standing as if she is a newly appointed beauty queen, her hand on her hip and lips pursued and a small twitchy Daichi, and a nervous Kenny. Kenny's eyes instantly lights up and he begins to become a twitching wreck as Cassie falls into view and I can't help but whisper into Tyson's ear at how nervous he looks which he chuckles back. Tyson's bangs tickle my cheek which makes me giggles even more which I notice makes Hilary suddenly begin to boil over in rage.

"Will you just hurry up?" she impatiently says, crossing her very brown arms over her popping out chest. I raise an eyebrow and Tyson looks equally as annoyed. She's ruining a perfectly good night already.

"Give it a rest Hilary."

Before there is time to start anymore arguments, a beautifully long black limo rounds the corner and everyone starts to gasp in wonder. My own face is a beacon of happiness which seems to attract Tyson who I feel can't take his eyes off for me for some reason. It grinds to a halt where Hiro effortlessly pulls the door open and beckons for us to enter. Hilary, then Daichi who looks completely astounded at the metal machine that we are riding in, Kenny who stumbles around but climbs in, followed by Cassie, leaving Tyson and myself. Tyson completely surprises me by stepping to the side and dramatically bows. I can't help but bite my lip from smiling as he says "after you m'lady"

I fling my head back and laugh out loud before letting Tyson help me step into the limo, tucking the ends of my dress safely in after me, pulling the door shut behind him. The limo slowly starts to roll away and my eyes flick up and take in our surroundings. Hiro is cracking open a bottle of champagne, the cork flying out causing all of us to hit the deck as it pings off, delicious white foam fizzing from the bottle. He pours some into several champagne flutes before handing them out. Tyson takes two and gives one to me. I wrap my long manicured hand around the crystal flute as Tyson turns to me and clinks his glass against mine, a lovely musical sound ringing softly in the air.

I knock back a large gulp, feeling the soothing drink slide easily down my throat. I lick the remaining drops off my lips, enjoying the sweet taste.

"Cheers guys!" Cassie happily sings, raising her glass to everyone in the limo. Hilary rolls her eyes and crosses her brown legs, lifting her glass with a look of discontent on her face. Everyone raises their glasses and another round is called, resulting in a second bottle being cracked open.

The funny thing from all this alcohol is the affects it has on people. Especially such sweet little boys like Kenny. From only two little glasses of champagne, his eyes (which are visually clear tonight due to the new contacts he has inserted, assumingly as a technique to impress Cassie) are starting to roam wildly, his lips constantly uplifted in a happy grin. He's giggling uncontrollably and seems to be knocking back his glass faster than anyone. It's such a funny sight.

"Take it easy, Ken." Tyson says jokingly, leaning back comfortably, his arm stretched out behind us along the top of the leather seats. I feel his fingers drum along my bare back and it's such a comforting feeling that I lean back, feeling his arm rest fully around my shoulder. He stirs his face turning to look at me who smiles friendly back him. I can detect something change in his face but he turns away from me so I can't tell exactly what's up, causing me to clear my mind and lift my glass to my lips.

Suddenly, the limo grinds to a halt and everyone falls silent as a very loud screaming can be heard coming from outside. Everyone's faces burst into excited smiles, apart from Kenny who is too eager to try and get to the drink bar as he clambers over Tyson and I and dives out the door.

"Kenny!" we all yell as a blinding flashing light appears in our faces. We all shake our heads as one by one, we exit the limo. Tyson and I allow everyone to get out first, leaving just us two.

"Ready?" he says, winking and linking his hand with mine. I shove his shoulder playfully and adjust my dress, stepping out into a very excited crowd. We've stepped onto a long blood red carpet that many beautiful and noticeably rich people are parading down. On either side of the carpet are velvet ropes that bar the growing number of people. On the left side are fans, girls and boys with banners, t-shirts and faces of pure joy, all chanting different things. The general chant however does seem to be Tyson but as soon as I step out, the minute my glittering heel tucks the silk rug, my name is suddenly the loudest in the area.

I stand up and my eyes watch the fans as they reach out as far as they can, only to be pulled back by the burly security guards who stand in their way. I give a small wave and murmurs of excitement rush through the crowd and take a few steps forward, walking slowly but head held high down the rug, awaiting Tyson. My attention is soon diverted to the other side of the rug where members of the press are craning to get the best photo or interview. I'm happy to spot Mariah who stands dominantly to one side of the press, her pink hair bobbling along as she speaks. Several other faces catch my attention further in the distance. I'm sure I can spot Michael, talking to NBC, a local sports broadcast station which doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

I'm caught out in a daydream as I slowly walk down the carpet, holding my clutch bag at my side, squeezing it tightly. I stop in my tracks as my name is called out rather aggressively. I quickly turn my head to the side as an intriguing journalist has shoved himself to the front, resulting in a disgruntled and R Rated response from the other members of the press.

I start to walk towards him, my step echoing around me, my eyes honing on him.

"I've got a question for you, Violet."

"I'm all ears…" I start but before I can get in speaking distance, my hips are pulled away and I start being pulled along the rest of the carpet, which rolls under a large gazebo where professional photographers are located. My eyes fall on a masculine hand which is draped over my hip, a hand that I'm pretty sure I recognise.

"Word to the wise, I wouldn't be so eager to give away any secrets to the press. Especially that guy." Tala, my apparent saviour says, stepping in time with me who he is pulling along rather fastly by the hip. I roll my eyes and dig my feet into the floor, forcing us both to stop in our chanter down the carpet, coincidentally at the end of a long queue of people, awaiting photographs.

I peel his fingers off my hip and press my lips together. I step back, ready to give him a mouthful for telling me what to do when my eyes fall on the, rather impressive person that is Tala Valkov. Desperately trying to deny it, but sadly I can't help but admit it that tonight, he looks outstanding. A perfectly fitted charcoal black suit hugs his body, his chest perfectly tightened so that his amazing physique is noticeable, much to the delight of the other women who I've noticed have been stealing several flirtatious glances at him.

His face, clear and serious as always stares back at me, his eyes narrowed and his brows pointing downwards. His no-nonsense expression is very perplexing, making my insides jiggle around madly, forcing me to clear my throat and deny any direct eye contact with the gorgeous red head.

"And why would that be, oh lord Tala?" I say, huffing sarcastically, turning my back to him, the queue slowly starting to move. As I step forward, he grabs my hand and pulls me back, my body slamming into his chest. I stare up into his eyes, forgetting my vow that I made several moments ago and I have to look away, something that amuses him greatly.

"Awww, what's wrong Violet? " he chuckles and I desperately try to pull myself away but his grip tightens, locking me in a position where I can feel his body heat yet again causing my body to ignite in a frenzy of emotions. The queue moves and he steps forward, our body's yet again pressing against one another, something that I have no idea how to respond to.

Eventually the queue disappears and as I look around for any sign of my team, he takes charge and pulls me onto the white canvas. Surprised I look around until my eyes fall on the large expensive camera pointed directly at us. Before I can say anything, Tala has wrapped a protective arm around my small waist, pulling me even tighter against him. I press a hand against his chest in attempt to push us apart which he takes as an invitation to increase our closeness, his hand slipping down my waist. He watches my face, my checks blushing madly as the camera flashes and in a moment, I pull myself away and jog away, moving as quickly as one can in 5 inch heels.

As I spot an open door down the hall in front of me, I focus on in as he yet again follows me, quickly catching up with me.

"I'm beginning think you don't like Violet." He says, gasping dramatically before chuckling in that annoying but very sexy low noise of his.

"What- ever made you think I liked you in the first place?"

"I think we all know that's not the case" he says, turning swiftly in front of me, blocking my path.

"You just keep telling yourself that. Okay, Tala?" I say, my shoulders dropping and rising as my heartbeat increases. I duck under his arm and push open the door, the very loud music almost blowing me away. I put a hand to my heart as I emerge onto a beautiful Cinderella staircase. I stand at the top, on a small circular platform where either side of it extends identical marble stairwells. My breath is caught in my chest as I observe the room which is pollulated with snow white streamers and black and white balloons. The room is absolutely huge, holding anything from between 500-2000 people.

My eyes quickly find Tyson who, as always, the centre of attention. He laps up the attention of everyone in the room as they come up to him and hug him, congratulating him on his victory. At his side is Hilary who looks so much happier that I have left the scene and every few seconds, she attempts to affectionately attach her slimy self to Tyson, each time resulting in Tyson yanking his arm free. Why she never takes the hint I will never know.

Besides from Tyson lapping all the praise up, the room is dominated by a round dance-floor where a brass band is set up, blasting out music. The musicians jive to the beats, the lead singer getting caught up in all, giving it his all, something that the crowd is entertained with as they do their own jiving on the dance-floor.

It is here I spot Ray and Mariah, wrapped up in one and another arms. I can't help but smile as I notice just how well Ray can dance. Man, that boy can move! His hips gyrate to the beat and he twirls Mariah around, her short but sweet prom dress twirling around her as she is lifted into the air. Her face is lit up with joy as Ray's eyes never leave her, clearly besotted with the girl, something that I'm very jealous of. I feel the urge to join in myself and I can't help but begin to tap my foot to the beat too.

"Care to dance?"

"Sure…" I say, not even noticing the scratchy growl of the voice that had been pestering me all night so far. I look up and see Tala standing next to me, one eyebrow raised as he watches as I can't stand still, the beat awakening my need to dance.

"On second thought…"

"Just come on!" he says, his lips forming a very knowing smile as he takes my hand, leading me down to the stairwell. Walking slowly, I can't help but maintain eye contact with Tala who watches my every moment like a hawk.

"Just admit it, you can't take your eyes off me." He says, confidently as several people notice us descending the stairs.

"Oh please. Seriously Tala, you have such a big ego." I roll my eyes disgustingly.

"Just a big ego Violet? Nothing else?"

"I…" I start but zip my lip as I pick up the tone of his noise. I pull my hand away, causing him to almost keel over with laughter and I feel my cheeks flare up, remembering the unforgettable shower incident. It was just so hard not to look anywhere else. Especially when you're on your knees, trying to get back up and he's practically in your face. Thank god, Bryan and Spencer never walked in on THAT moment.

"How old exactly are you again Tala? 5!?"

"18 actually." He says, stifling his laugh as I step off the last step. The small groups cluttered around look at us, either raising their glasses or gossiping silently as Tala pulls me along, still very unimpressed by Tala's boyish humour. I quickly notice Bryan, Spencer and Kai sitting at a table near the dance floor. They all are watching their captain intently. In-fact most of everyone I recognise is watching us.

Tala pulls me up onto the dance floor as the very fast, hot jiving song draws to a close. Ray is standing near us and walks over to us as the band start to get ready for the next song, his giggling girlfriend bouncing along beside him.

"Tala." He says, nodding his head at the Blitzkreig boy. "Violet, you look great!"

"Thank you Ray. So do you." I say politely as Mariah joins his side, linking his hand with his. She's wearing a short black and white flowery prom dress that is layered with thin paper material, giving a very floaty but elogant look. Her hair is very flower child as she wears a daisy chain tiara on her head, framing her short but perfectly chopped pink hair.

"Mariah, you look beautiful!"

"Aw, thanks Vi." She says, blushing as Ray squeezes her hand. These two are seriously such a beautiful couple.

"You look stunning! Seriously, why hasn't any guy snapped you up by now? I actually had my suspicions Tyson would, but then I thought, Tyson? He's far too interested in food than girls!" he says a mile a minute, barely coming up for air.

"Mariah, slow down for air before you knock yourself out! Ray instructs, rubbing her back caringly.

"Oh speaking of which, I was so scared when you got knocked out during the final. I actually thought both of you were at one point." She says, her voice slower, her eyes jumping from both of us.

"Speaking of that, I still need to ask you about that." I say, turning to Tala who smirks, his eyes closed.

"Later, Violet " he hushes me, patting my backside cheekily. I gasp and narrow my eyes at Tala who is really pushing his luck. The couple seem to have noticed Tala's wandering hands and have exchanged knowing glances.

"Well, congratulations again on the final. We're going to get a drink. Catch ya after!" Ray says, leading Mariah away by the arm. She disconnects herself and flings her arms round my neck for a small hug which I awkwardly return. She then leans in and cups her hand round my ear and says "Oh and congrats about Tala, you make such a lovely couple" and she runs off, joining Ray's side once again.

My mouth hangs so far open in surprise you would definitely think I'm trying to catch flies. I can't quite pull myself together as I stand in utter shock watching the couple disappear into the crowd. I fear Tala has heard Mariah's attempt to whisper as he lightly taps my mouth shut, looking me in the eye and I see his smirk grow.

"You didn't…"

"Hear that?" he cockily says as the guitarist starts up the song which much to my dismay, is a very slow ballad. I roll my eyes as Tala narrows the gap between us, his arm yet again snaking around my waist and his hand rests on my hip, his thumb comfortably rolling along the silk satin of my dress. He takes my hand , holding our arm out and I fall into place, my hand resting on his neck. The height difference isn't quite so big thanks to my heels which means my face is much closer to his and he knows it as his head leans in, ever so slightly to mine.

"For someone so beautiful, you sure put up a good fight." He says, quietly as the dancefloor fills with couples-Ray and Mariah, Miguel and Mathilda, Enquirue (grr) and some very busty brunette (no surprise there), Cassie and Kenny and even Mr Dickinson and his elderly wife, Michelle. Ever since I can remember they were my inspiration. So much love and devovation.

"I'm not weak Tala. I…hold up, beautiful?"

He nods slowly, his hair brushing by the side of my face, giving me a tingling sensation that rises up my body. His eyes are locked on mine and like a magnet, I'm automatically pulled towards the enchanting red head.

"You know, I wouldn't say beautiful." I say quietly looking at my feet, suddenly feeling very shy from the attention I'm receiving.

"Do you own a mirror?"

"Em, yes?"

"Then look in once in a while. Because what I say-as well as what the rest of this room sees-is the most beautiful woman anyone has ever seen."

"Wow. Tala…"

"Plus, you're one heck of a beyblader. Still, not quite on my level but you know." He says, winking at me and I can't help but open my mouth in protest but I can't say anything. I'm trying to catch my breath. My heart is in my mouth from all these compliments.

"Tala, I almost beat you." I wheeze, my chest rising and falling as Tala leans in and for a moment, it looks like he's actually going to kiss me!

"Yeah, _almost._

His eyes zero in on my lips and I feel like I'm being pulled in towards him, my own head tilting to the side automatically. Closer and closer, we move until…

"Will Tyson and Violet please come to the stage, it's time to accept your titles!"

I jump back and we look at each other, our faces silent as the night as we both struggle to define what was really about to happen. I spot Tyson approaching us and I know he was watching us, though for some reason his face looks troubled. I look forward and I'm confused to find my dancing partner has vanished, leaving me standing on an empty dance floor.

Determined to put this behind me, I approach Tyson and embrace him, squeezing him tightly which oddly he doesn't return. Everyone begins to clap as we ascend the stage but even as we pose for photos and I give a small speech at how I could never have done this without Tyson and that he truly is my best friend, he barely looks at me. After this is finished, he leaves the stage and walks away from me. Have I done something wrong?

Hours pass and Tyson still is nowhere to be found. I make use of my time by chatting to the other members of the tournament and having (many) drinks which I soon realise as I start feeling light headed. I fully realise how drunk I am when I find myself booty popping on the dance floor with Ray and Mariah!

Turning away from the dance floor, I stagger over towards the nearest table and plonk myself down on the nearest chair. Unfortunately, in my drunken state, I fail to notice that the chair is occupied.

"Having fun Violet?"

I turn my head and I eek as I see I've landed myself at the Blitzkreig Boys table and the person I'm sitting on happens to be Tala. His elbow leans on the table and another hand is knocking back a bottle of beer. He seems to be around a lot tonight.

"Tala, I'm so sorry!" I say, loudly as I start to stand up. However, as I pull myself up Tala also stands up, his face alight as if my attempt to run away poses a challenge to the boy.

"What's the hurry?"

"Oh, no reason." I slur, moving away in the direction of the bathroom. Tala looks ready to follow me but I quickly duck in through the bathroom door. I fall into the girl's bathroom, leaning my body on the sink for support. I breathe in and look in the mirror, thankful to see that I'm clearly not that drunk as I'm all in one piece. I apply a thin coat of lipgloss and smack my lips together, deciding to kick my heels off for comfort. As I lean down to pick them up, something catches my eyes. I lean down and my eyes see right under the cubicle. However, it's the fact I can see 4 feet in one cubicle that fascinates me.

I put a hand over my mouth and listen closely, moving out of distance behind the wall so that if someone comes out, I'm not directly in danger of being accused of ease-dropping. Though, to be honest, that's exactly what I'm doing. I hear a light slurping noise and I'm very intrigued as I crane my ear closer to the cubicle.

"Oh, Tyson!"

"Shhh, Hilary!"

My eyes widen and I drop my heels to the floor, making a very loud thud that echoes throughout the bathroom. I panic and quickly scramble my shoes together in my arms and flee the bathroom as the cubicle door starts to squeak open, my dress failing out behind me.

TYSON AND HILARY ARE IN THE BATHROOM TOGETHER! THE GIRLS BATHROOM! DOING GOD KNOWS WHAT! OH, MY GOOOOOOD! No, this is not happening. I thought Tyson hated Hilary? And he's practically, what, having sex with her? I have no idea but my only thought (besides the horror of Hilary and Tyson, actually, oh my god) is getting the hell out of there.

It's only when I've ran out of the bathroom and in the first direction I could find which led me into the lobby, which connected to a very fancy hotel. I knew the other teams were staying here for the night such as the White Tigers. I felt so sorry for Lee who was only in the next room from his baby sister, Mariah and Ray. No brother wants to be in that situation.

As I panted from the run, I failed to notice a red head approach me.

"Are you okay?" Tala says, his body hunched over so he can observe my face which is sucking in as much air as I possibly can.

"How…do…you…keep…finding…me…!"

He laughs and lifts me up, holding me as I lean against him, trying to catch my breath.

"You're not very quiet. You practically ran out of that bathroom screaming. I was wondering what could be so bad in a toilet to make someone do that…"

"TRUST ME! You do not want to know." I say, still out of breath. I notice Tala has led me over to the elevator which has swung open and we have stepped inside.

"Tala, um, where we going?"

"My room."

"Whyyy?"

Tala's faces looks forward and he doesn't answer me.

"Tala? Taaaaaala? TALA!" I say, continuously waving a hand over his face, trying to get him to react it.

"TALA ANSWER ME!"

Suddenly as quick as a flash, Tala has pinned me against the wall, his hands positioned over my wrists. It's so impressive how quickly he had me locked in. But really, I can't move an inch.

" .It." he growls at me, his eyes rising up to look me directly in the eye. My body turns to stone as I feel the heat begin to pass between us as I look down and notice that his body is thrust against mine. I can feel the marks on his stomach ever so much against me, especially the dips in his groin area.

"Why are we going to your room?" I say meekly, so quiet that I doubt whether he heard me.

He laughs, his lips forming the biggest smirk I've ever seen. He leans in, licking his lips lustfully and pressed his lips against my ear. I take a deep breathe in as the elevator doors whoosh open but he remains stuck against me. Finally, he breathes in and says…


	15. Chapter 15

(P.S, a little risqué, depending on your taste. Little bit of action but nothing too bad. Enjoy! )

"…why don't you come and see?"

He winks at me and walks out the elevator, turning on his heels and strutting towards the first door on the left. He digs down in his trouser and pulls a card out, swiping in resulting in the door opening. He gives me a smirk before disappearing into the room, leaving me alone in the hallway. My heart is racing madly and I stand still, my mind still racing from between what I saw in the toilets to trying to decide whether I should follow or not.

Okay, let's consider what the pros of going into Tala's room, alone would be.

Getting to spend time with a really, really hot guy.

Taking my mind off the thought of Tyson getting freaky with Hilary in a girls bathroom.

And, overall just being in the same room with a guy with unbelievably hot abs.

And what would the cons be?

…

For some reason, I can't even think what the downside would be. Swallowing my fear, I take a step at a time and face the door, my hand shaking as I gradually push open the door. I step inside, my head peering around the very luxurious room. The room is large, with a long leather couch stretching from one end of the room to another. The room is dark and quiet and I can't spot Tala anywhere . As soon as I step in, the door slams behind me and I feel a presence appear. I suck in air through my teeth as a few fingers start to run up my arms.

"Ta… ?"

A small chuckle is heard behind me and I look down as I suddenly something warm and wet on my neck. I become aware that Tala has attached his lips to my neck, laying light kisses over my skin. As he softly plants each one, my skin almost feel like it's burning.

"What are you doing?" I whisper, closing my eyes as he lightly licks my neck, tumbling down until he's now laying more kissed on the crook between my shoulder and neck. I stretch my body out as he eventually stops on a particular spot where he lays beautiful soft licks, swirling his tongue around on a particular spot. Each single kiss makes my body explode and I can't help but bite my lip hard, desperate to contain myself. I bite my so hard that a small droplet of blood oozes out of my mouth and slides down my chin.

Tala works his mouth round my neck, his tongue lapping up the small spot of blood. He laughs and moves away, surprisingly making my eyes snap open in disappointment.

"Don't panic my dear." He says, wrapping his strong arms around my waist pulling me towards him who sits down on my couch. He pulls me swiftly onto his lap which causes me to blush. He leans back, pulling me even closer, his hands pulling my legs on either side of his body.

"I have a question for you." He says softly, cupping my chin with one hand.

"What?" I whisper back, looking deep into his eyes.

"You see, it's not really fair."

"What's not fair?"

"You saw me, in the shower." He says slowly, his eyes flicking from my face to my body. "But _I didn't get to see you."_

My eyes widen in shock at how brass and honest he is with me but something about his honesty and brutal openness, is very appealing.

"Well, then that's not my fault… is it?"

"No, I suppose not." He says, smiling as he places his hands above his head and leans back, watching me.

Feeling hot flushed, I go to move myself away but Tala is very quick and grabs my hands, pulling me down on top of him.

"Where you going?" he whispers in my ear.

"I was feeling a little warm so…"

"Well, you know why? It's because of this dress, it's so long…and warm…" he lingers, rubbing the silk together with his hand, walking my face turn pink. He swiftly flicks the long silk side away, exposing my leg and my upper thigh. He watches my face, quiver and shakes as he takes one finger and presses it to my leg. He gradually makes his way up my leg, moving closer and closer.

Lost in such a touching moment, I swing back on my legs and lose my balance, falling through the air and landing on the soft carpet. On my fall through the air, my hands reach out, my fingers grabbing hold of Tala's collar, accidentally pulling him down on top of me. I land on the carpet and utter "oomph!", only to be followed by Tala who presses me further into the carpet.

Feeling extremely hot under the collar, I wiggle around a little but Tala's strong frame locks me in place. Again, he watches me, smiling.

"I love watching you like this."

"You are so creepy Tala!"

He bursts out laughing, flinging his head forward and looking at me, smiling. I look deep in his eyes and I smile back, feeling something between us start to become very apparent.

"I love watching _you_ like this, Tala."

"Like what?"

"Being nice."

We both start laughing and he rolls over. I roll on my side and look at him as he sighs and looks at the ceiling. Suddenly, I want to try something. And after everything I've seen today there's no reason why I should hold back.

"Kiss me."

"What?" he looks at me, sitting up on his knees.

"I'm serious. Kiss me." I whisper, sitting up on my own knees, closing the distance between us. He looks at me, unsure of where I'm coming from but then laughs under his breath before then pulling me forward by my chin, layering his lips over mine. The moment his soft lips touch mine, I know exactly what that feeling I've been denying is. It floods through my body as I thrust my hands through his thick hair, gripping it tightly as his tongue enters my mouth.

He plays softly with my tongue, licking up and down resulting in a soft moan escaping my lips. Tala smirks into the kiss and grabs me forcefully, lifting me into the air by my thighs. Feeling even more light- hearted than I did from the alcohol, I wrap my other arm round his neck and my legs on his hips as he carries me over to the couch, lying me down softly, climbing on top of me.

I pull him closer, running a soft hand down his face, feeling his light stubble tickle my finger -tips.

My hand falls on his tightly buttoned jacket and my fingers latch onto the buttons which are very difficult to open. After several minutes of trying and failing, Tala breaks his lips from mine and lifts me into a sitting position on the edge of the couch and stands up, turning away as he effortlessly removes the buttons himself.

He pulls it from his shoulder and my eyes widen as his toned back is exposed to me yet again. He throws it across the couch and turns to me. My face is deadly still, my eyes transfixed on every curve and dip of his muscles. My eyes fall and widen on the noticeable V structure on his hips.

My favourite part.

He walks towards me and my heart stops as he lifts my fingers and runs it slowly along the rock hard muscles on his stomach. I close my eyes as he lets my fingers run downwards, catching on the cold metal of his belt buckle. I slowly stand up. Feeling brave, I boldly turn away and take his hand running along the jaggy zip on my side of my dress. I can hear his breath get a little hitched too at this point.

"Un-do me?"

I can feel a certain eager-ness in his manners as his fingers fidget with the zip. I can hear them curse under his breath as he catches it several times but it eventually slides off me, Tala laying it over the couch. Everything suddenly feels very chilly and I rub my hands over my arms. I had forgotten that I was even wearing a dress…and a thong.

I can _definitely_ tell it is to Tala's likening.

He whole demeanour changes, his eyes lit up with desire and as I turn around un-doing Nercissa and the garter belt placing it on the table, he scoops me up hastily in his arms and carries me away, kicking open the bedroom door. He drops me onto a very cushy king sized bed, my head landed perfectly on a feathery pillow. I prop myself up on my elbows, watching him as he stands before me, un-doing his belt buckle. We watch other like hungry animals ready for their first kill. He kicks his trousers off and crawls towards me, raising my arms above my head, leaving me helpless.

"Do you usually take girls you barely know back to your room Tala?" I tease as he nibbles on my ear-lobe.

"Do you usually go back to guys room you hardly know Violet?" he mimics, biting hard down causing me to pull in tight my muscles and yell out. He smirks, taking a great deal of pleasure from this and sucks comfortably, easing the light pain.

"You are such an animal."

"Guilty as charged" he grunts, ready to move downwards on my body. I smile and lightly moan when I suddenly feel the urge to sit up, surprising him. I listen carefully which Tala does too as the door of the hotel room, to our horror squeaks open and we both look at each other, our eyes wide.

"So, did you hear? Tyson was caught doing stuff in the bathroom with a girl!"

"No way! With who? Violet?"

"Naaa, I don't think she's like that."

"What do you mean? We caught her with Tala! I wouldn't be surprised if that's who Tala was with right now…"

Great.

Caught.

Again.


	16. Chapter 16

We sit frozen, hearing Bryan and Spencer move around in the next room. Careful to not make a single noise, I move like a ninja, crawling along the carpet and pressing my ear to the door.

"…from what I heard, it was that Hilary girl that always hanging around with those guys."

"Oh man, her?! I guess Tyson's more desperate than we thought!"

Tala muffles a small laugh and I look at him, gritting my teeth and narrowing my eyes, telling him to shut up.

"Anyway, what do you need to get anyway? We better get back downstairs."

"I just need to get my blade. I was showing this really hot girl…"

"I wouldn't say Julia is all that Bryan."

"Shut up, you need your eyes tested…"

Footsteps start to approach the door and I stumble back pulling myself along the carpet, hiding behind the tall king sized bed. I pull Tala down beside me, pulling us out of sight. The door squeaks open and light floods the room. I gulp and peek out slightly, still completely hidden by the tall mattress. Bryan stands awkwardly in the doorway, wearing a similar suit to Tala's but his is chocolate brown and his eyes dart around the room, looking for his blade which he locates is on the dresser.

He steps forward, snapping his fingers as his eyes fall on the blade. As he steps closer and his hand reaches out, he stops in his tracks, his eyes suddenly noticing the messy bed spread.

"Spencer?"

"Yeah?"

"Has anyone been in here since we went down to the party?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no." Spencer says, appearing in the doorway, his long tall figure leaning against the doorframe.

"Hmm." He says doubtingly, picking the blade up and turning round on his heels. He pats Spencer's shoulder and begins to close the door, saying quietly as he leaves…

"Give Tala a phone, will you. Who knows where he is…"

I jump up and panic as the door shuts, looking around the room for Tala's phone. Tala is leaning against the bed, a small defeated smile on his face and sporting a very ruffled hairstyle.

"No use, my phone's in the other room."

"Shit!" I exclaim, now looking for something to pull over my almost naked frame. It's bad enough that I'm almost extremely likely to be caught by Tala's team-mates but if they catch me like this, I will NEVER hear the end of it! I quickly pull on the nearest thing which is Tala's shirt which drowns me, hanging limply over my knees.

A small ringing noise fills the suite and I bang my head against the wall silently as I hear Bryan start talking into the phone. I'm doomed.

"Tala? Pick up man, Tala…wait, what?"

I figure out that Bryan has located Tala's phone and is now confused why it's here.

"Bryan, isn't that a beyblade on the table?"

"Yeah…and look, that's a dress on the floor?"

My eyes snap open and Tala makes an "oh" expression, biting his lip as my face turns extremely red at the thought of Bryan and Spencer finding my clothes. I'm hopeful they don't put two and two together but a few minutes later, my hopes are dashed when I hear a loud sniggering coming from the next room. Footsteps run to the door and I dive under the covers, burying my head, trying to disappear into the thin sheets.

"Knock ,knock." Bryan says, barely unable to contain his laughter as the door yet again creaks open. I wince and pull my body in, trying to make myself as little as possible. However, my fears come to light as I feel the sheet being ripped off me and thrown to the floor.

I scream, never been so embarrassed in my life. My screech is so ear shattering that for a moment all three guys in the room cover their ears and give me the opportunity to pull the covers back. I rip it off Bryan and wrap myself in head to toe with it, my cheeks quickly flooding pink.

"Evening Tala…and Violet!" Spencer remarks, grinning from ear to ear. I try and wrap the cover around me as tightly as possible, sitting cross legged, tucking the sheets under me. My eyes can't meet anyone's for the sheer shame I feel.

"Guys, will you just leave?" Tala says demandingly, shrugging his shoulders and eyeing his team mates to leave. They disobey.

"Why? Can't we stay and watch?"

"You are such perverts."

"You know, we were betting how long it would actually take, you know since your little shower scene. Bryan…you owe me man!"

"Fiiine…couldn't you have been a little less easy Violet?" he sarcastically says and I make a fist, my shoulders rising and falling with anger. Noticing my heated position, Tala puts a comforting hand on my shoulder, restraining me momentarily, giving Spencer and Bryan time to stroll out of the room. Spencer closes the door slowly, his eyes twinkling, making us know that there is no way he is going to forget this.

When the door is shut, we hear them cackle in the next room and I groan, sitting up and tossing a pillow at the door with great force. It rips apart, soft feathers descending down onto the carpet. I wrap my arms around my knees, heaving as I try and get my pounding heart rate to decrease. Tala simply runs a hand through his red mane and looks at me, his eyebrows raised.

""I'm sorry."

I sigh. "It's not your fault." I mumble.

"But is that really true? About Tyson and _Hilary_?"

"Surprisingly yes. I actually saw them for myself."

"Literally?"

"Well, not literally! Tyson's my best friend but frankly I'd hate to see that! No, they were in the girl's bathroom, in the cubicle…" I shudder, remembering what I saw. I'm so confused about everything.

"I don't mean to sound mean but you and Tyson, that's a strange pairing. You're so, you and Tyson…well everyone knows that idiot is like." He coldly says and I have to nod. Tyson is idiotic, strange and such a goofball at times. But I can't ever say no to him. I have a soft spot for him.

"I guess they ruined the mood" he says, slivering up next to me and running tickling fingers up my leg. I smile politely, flickering my eyelashes up at him. I stroke his jaw.

"Yeah."

"And it was just getting to the good part too!" he says, pouting childishly. I can't help but laugh at his persistence.

"Yes, it really was wasn't it?"

"What are you going to do now that the tournament is over?"

I shrug. "I had thought about staying with Tyson for a little while. But now, he's got Hilary and frankly seeing them together makes me feel sick strangely. So I might start travelling again…"

"This might sound sudden…" he begins, sitting in front of me and suddenly taking my hands. I feel a sudden spark pass between us and I bite my lip, looking at his beautiful eyes.

"Why don't you come stay with me for a while?"

"In **Russia**?" I say, raising an eyebrow. Has he lost his mind?

"Yeah. Think of it as a winter vacation. You'd love it."

"I don't know…" I say remembering how Tyson and I had made so many plans to spend time together. We had planned to go camping, practice blading ( beyblading was a huge part of our plans) and pretty much just goofing around. I felt angry when I realised that it was unlikely he was thinking about anything of this right now, while he was pleasing that brown haired nuisance.

So, why should I give him a second thought?

"You know, it would give us plenty of time to finish where we left off…" he whispers seductively, his supple lips grazing over mine. I shiver, a smile tugging at my lips.

"That **would **be wonderful."

"C'mon, say yes?"

"…okay then!" I hastily say and he grins, a very wolfy toothy grin and hugs me. I hug him tightly, whilst still lost in my thoughts. What would this mean for my world champion best friend?

And why exactly, was he giving me the cold shoulder?

Tyson stumbled out of the ladies bathroom. He reached for the wall to aid his balance and tried to walk as far as possible without falling over. He slipped further and further down the wall until finally a strong arm was established under him, pulling him up into a stable position.

"Tyson, I see you're enjoying yourself. " Ray said, smiling at his drunken friend. He looked down at him, tucking him neatly under his arms, supporting his suddenly heavy body.

"Where's Violet?"

"Don't know. Don't care."

"Tyson, what's wrong with you?" Ray questioned, concerned for the sudden coldness. Out of everyone he had ever came into contact with, besides the always chirpy blonde haired teen that was Max, Tyson was the most optimistic of them all. He had seen goodness in people as cold as Kai and for that, Tyson had proven himself to have a really big heart, capable of loving everyone. Yet now, he had suddenly declared an uncaring attitude for a girl that Ray had sworn throughout most of the tournament Tyson was falling head over heels for. Ray, being the always cunning detective decided to do a little digging.

"What happened Tyson?"

Tyson shrugged and felt his body go limp, along with his eyes. He slumped and Ray groaned as his body weight pulled him under. He moaned, pulling with his strength to get the boy back onto his feet. He eyed the room, which was just starting to empty. Caterers were beginning to pack up, whilst drunken guests were still littered around, refusing to vacate the room. Having calmed his drinking around after midnight, he had been able to go from being tipsy to awake. Ray was one of the only conscious bladers. He chuckled in his head as he remembered how Mariah had got the girls-Julia and Emily to carry her back to her room, feeling the effects a little too much. He adored her, drunken or sober.

He pulled Tyson over to a deserted table, carefully placing him into seat. He unwrapped the lifeless boys arms from his neck to which he draped on the table and laid his head down to rest. Ray breathed out, rubbing his neck, not knowing what next to do.

"C'mon Tyson. You can tell me anything." Ray said, sitting next to Tyson.

"Oh yeah, well where were you all this year when I needed someone to talk to?" Tyson said, and Ray was instantly aware of the musky smell wafting from his throat. He screwed up his face, disgusted by the mixture of alcohol.

"Are you sure you just haven't had too much to drink? You don't seem like yourself."

"Well if being me is letting all my so called best friends walk all over me, well excuse me! I'm done with being there for everyone and then when it comes to me needing someone, they are gone! Who needs enemies like people like that?" He banged his head off the table and Ray winced, the thud making the cutlery on the table leap up.

"Tyson" he said, sitting up. "I'm sorry about whatever happened during the tournament, it was something that needed to happen and you know that but it's over now. I'm your friend, you can speak to me. C'mon tell me. What is it?"

Tyson paused, chewing his lower lip nervously. His misty looking eyes started to well up and Ray could see he was in some sort of pain.

"Violet."

"What about Violet?"

"She was with Tala."

"Tala? No way." Ray rejected but his face turned serious as Tyson tilted his head so their eyes met. He was serious.

"And by with you mean together?"

Tyson nodded.

"**Together, Together**?

And again, he nodded.

"So, she likes Tala? Is that bad?"

Tyson shrugged and his lips turned downward but Ray couldn't make out any of his face as he slapped a hand over his face, masking his pain.

"Tyson, if you like Violet, that's not a bad thing."

"It is since she likes Tala."

"But if you just talk to her, she might like you back."

"She would never like me back, not after what I've just done." Tyson groaned, massaging his sudden sore head.

"What did you do?"

"TYSON, DARLING! WHERE ARE YOU?" a familiar shrill voice rang and Tyson groaned, putting his hands over his ears to block out the voice. He was in sudden regret and Ray, confused, turned round to find Hilary jogging over to them, with a very pleased smirk on her face. She looked like the cat that had just got the cream.

"Hello Hilary."

"Hello Ray, I see you found my beloved Tyson." She sang, putting both of her hands on Tyson's shoulders possessively. Ray eyed the sudden affective strokes, especially on Hilary's part. He wondered why Tyson wasn't fighting off her advances, instead opting to slide down his seat, trying to disappear.

"Um, I guess so. Be careful though. He's a little drunk."

"Oh I know" she cackled, twirling her hair round her finger. She popped her foot and leaned in, planting a kiss on Tyson's cheek. Tyson winced a little but looked caught, like he was somehow responsible for this romantic torture.

"I hate to say but I suppose it's my fault. I shouldn't let the poor dear drink so much. But he's so cute like this. And let me tell you, he's is so easily turned on when he's like this." She suggestively said and Ray blushed, looking a little out of place. There was an awkward pause and Ray felt like disappearing too.

"Well, um, yeah, good for him I guess. Anyway, I guess I better help him to his room…"

"No need! I'll help him." She winked and helped him to, to which he looked reluctant but eventually gave in, letting the girl drag him out of the room. Ray sat and watched, shaking his head.

Tyson was in love, for sure. With a girl, who if what Tyson was saying wasn't drunken lies, was currently having some sort of fling with Tala. Ray couldn't help thinking that this kind of thing would only ever happen to Tyson Granger.


End file.
